Emblemtale: The Ancients
by Jackdaw-FanFiction
Summary: A young girl with mysterious abilities finds herself in unfamiliar lands after escaping from a group of mercenaries, now, alongside the captain of the Mercenaries, as well as a growing band of Monsters and Humans, she will have to not only survive a war raging between Monsters and Humans, but find a way to defeat an eldritch threat to both sides, lest both kingdoms be lost!
1. Chapter 1

Emblemtale: The Ancients

(Before we start, I'd like to preface this by saying sorry if this is bad, I'm a little rusty when it comes to writing)

In the Country of Ordum, there exists two kingdoms, Vauland, land of the humans, known for their stalwart warriors and wayfaring merchants, and Zephina, a kingdom born of the nomadic monsters that once roamed its sprawling plains and daunting mountains, long ago, the monsters discovered an ancient artifact known as the Fire Emblem, which gave them access to powerful magics, allowing them to take themselves from small nomadic tribes, to a bustling kingdom, in response, 7 powerful humans were sent to combat the rising monsters, for fear of them growing too powerful and overthrowing their human neighbors, the power of this magic was too great for the heroes to combat and they were routed, as a sign of good faith, the only thing that remained of these heroes was returned to the Vauland, their very souls were all that remained, ever since this battle, these two lands had been locked in what soon began to feel like eternal war, and when faced with the idea of the conflict leading to a war of attrition, Valtick, the King of the Humans, sent out a mercenary squad to retrieve something he believes will help them turn the tides against the monsters and end the war once and for all...

On a lone mountainside, a young man dressed in a gambeson and greaves covering his trousers, his brown hair was swept out of his face as he studied the map given to him by the king, feeling slightly frustrated that his squad had to trek so far into the mountains, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, fingers lingering on the scar that lay on it, this was Llain, captain of the squad tasked with retrieving the king's secret weapon, whatever it may be.

"Captain Llain!, Captain Llain!" A voice called rousing him from his thoughts, he rolled up the map and turned to face the voice, one of the men from his squad was running up to him, as soon as he reached him, the mercenary doubled over, catching his breath "We...We found the village!"

Llain nodded and picked up his sword that he had rested on the ground and secured it on his hip "Search every hut, make sure no stone goes unturned, the king has said that this place is abandoned, but if there is anyone here, keep your weapons sheathed and see if they can be reasoned with, no one needs to be hurt, understand?" The merc nodded and turned to leave with a salute "Relay that order to the others!" Llain made one last check that his gear was secured before following his men into the village.

Everything was quiet, the mercenary's did not move from the village gate, looking around and waiting for a sign that this place wasn't as dead as it seemed "Hello?" one mercenary called, the only response he got was his own echoing call "Is this the right place?"

"...Well, no use standing around" Llain said, finally breaking the silence and stepping through the gate to the village "Like I said before, search every house and keep weapons sheathed, if someone doesn't comply, words first, swords second, clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The mercenary's responded, spreading out and searching the surrounding houses, with every knock, they were all met with silence.

"Strange...where did everyone go?" Llain muttered to himself, looking through the window of one house "Not even a candle?, Did anyone even live here?"

"Sir!, I think I found something!" A mercenary called out, Llain turned around and saw one of his men approaching him with a book in his hand "I think it's a diary of some sort" he handed the book to Llain and the captain thumbed through the pages.

"...It doesn't say anything about a secret weapon..." Llain spoke, examining the pages "Though it does talk about strange sightings in the woods around here...Monsters coming over the border, maybe?" as Llain read, he noticed a drawing in the diary, it seemed to depict a being made of stone with strange markings adorning its face, while he read, one of his men noticed something moving behind him and crouching behind a barrel next to the house.

"Sir, behind you!" He yelled, quickly drawing his bow and firing an arrow, all of the mercs were surprised to see a young girl run out from behind the barrel, the girl ran towards the village gate, trying as hard as she could to escape from the mercenaries.

"You idiot, it was just a kid!" Llain reprimanded him "Hold on, girl, you don't have to run!" Llain sighed as the girl did not stop "After her, she could get hurt out there!" the squad agreed and ran after the girl.

"The border isn't too far from here!" One of the mercs pointed out "If she goes over the gorge, that's it!" soon, they reached the aforementioned gorge and saw the girl trying to pass over the bridge, the creaking boards echoing around the empty canyon as she passed.

"Stay right there, kid, we're just coming to take you home!" Llain yelled, he stepped on the bridge and felt it creak under his weight "Alright, I'll cross and try to convince her to come with us, stay here and watch out for any other danger" The men nodded as Llain slowly began to cross, trying not break the boards under him.

"Stay away!" The girl called out, falling backwards, Llain looked at her as she scrambled away, he studied her attire, a tattered old tunic that seemed to made from sackcloth, she had smudges of dirt all over her, and her dark brown hair was messy and sticking up at different angles, but most striking of all, she had small, feathery wings behind her, he found himself wondering how long she had been in that abandoned village "Get away from me!, I don't wanna go!"

"Just stay calm, little lady!" Llain replied, trying to soften his voice as he crossed the bridge "We're just trying to get you back home, alright?"

"No!" The girl yelled, pulling something from a pocket, it was a small stone, and Llain braced for her to throw it at him, but soon, there was a bright flash of light and the young girl was replaced by a large, feathery dragon.

"She...She's a Manakete!" One of the mercenaries shouted, pointing at the girl "Draw your weapons!, Those beasts can devour a man whole!"

"Belay that order!, She's just scared!" Llain yelled back, he found his men not listening as they drew their weapons, the archers and mages focused on the dragon as her roar reverberated through the canyon, even causing the bridge to shake beneath them, she reared her head back and expelled a breath of wisp-like mist, buffeting the mercenaries and blowing any stray arrows off course.

"Captain!, The bridge can't take much more!" A merc yelled over the whipping winds, he was soon proven right as the ropes on the bridge began weakening, the snapped and Llain dove for the girl, trying to push her back before the falling bridge sent them both to the canyon floor, but he wasn't fast enough and they were both dropped into the darkness of the canyon "Captain!"

Llain bounced off the canyon wall as he fell, struggling to keep consciousness, he looked around and saw the girl flapping her wings, struggling to keep herself in the air and attempting to fly back to the top, soon though, her strength gave out and she reverted back to her human form, Llain reached out and snagged the collar of her tunic, pulling her close to try and prevent her from sustaining any injuries " _Damn!, this won't end well, what was the king planning on doing with this child, anyway!?_ " Llain rolled over and silently prayed to the gods for a safe landing as he felt the ground rapidly approaching.

They landed with a hard thud as Llain was certain he felt some bones crack, he coughed hard as the impact knocked the wind from his body, he looked at the young girl passed out in his arms, though she seemed uninjured from the fall "This kids made from some sturdy stuff, I guess..." he laughed as he felt his consciousness slipping away from him "Guess we won't be getting that reward from the king..." his eyes began to close, but soon, he saw a figure approaching them "Heh...guess the goddess is on my side..."

"Hello?, is someone there?" The figure called, still approaching, he soon saw the two people passed out in front of him "Oh no!, I thought I heard the bridge collapse, I had hoped no one would be on it, though!" he picked up the girl and dragged Llain behind him "We'll have some medical supplies back at the barracks, you'll be fine!" after trekking through the canyon for what felt like an hour, they finally reached the barracks, the soldier set both of them down and rushed to find medical supplies...

The young girl felt her strength return to her as her eyes slowly opened, she found herself in an unfamiliar location and began to get worried, she was sitting at a table in what seemed like a dungeon, she heard someone humming and got up from the table, she wandered around the dungeon and looked through the cells, most were empty, but one had a figure laying on the ground that felt familiar to her, she continued towards the humming, she soon found a soldier in full armor, his head inside a cupboard searching for something.

"E-Excuse me...?" She called out, the soldier didn't seem to hear her as he continued to rummage through the cabinet "Excuse me..." The girl called out again, this time the soldier seemed to notice her.

"Hmm?, One moment please!" He responded, placing a pouch on the table next to him, he stood straight up and closed the cupboard, he stood an entire head taller than the girl, and when he turned around she began screaming as she was shocked to see he had no skin or muscle on his face, only bone, the skeleton joined in on the screaming as well "Why are we screaming?!"

"Monster!" The girl yelled, falling on her backside and scrambling away from the monster, in response, the monster simply cleared his throat and spoke.

"Yes, I am a monster, you have crossed over into the Kingdom of Monsters!" He announced grandiosely "And I am the Famous Border Guard, Papyrus!" he struck a dramatic pose and waited for the girl to say something, but she only sat there in silence "I-I see you are starstruck!"

"W-Where am I?" The girl finally asked, trying to steady her nerves "Why am I here?" Papyrus placed a gloved hand to his chin and answered.

"Well, you're at the barracks between the human and monster kingdoms, placed at the mouth of the colossal gorge between the lands" he explained, gesturing around "As I was patrolling the gorge for trouble, I saw something falling from the sky, at first I believed it was a shooting star, which was confusing as the sun had barely begun to set, when I traced it to the place it landed, I found you and that human lying on the ground, I must say, even _I_ would not attempt an entrance that dramatic!"

"Human?, was it the guy in the cell?" The girl asked, pointing down the hall at the cell she passed "Do you know who he is?"

"Yes, I do indeed!" Papyrus answered, proudly puffing out his chest "He...is a stranger!" the girl couldn't help but giggle slightly at this response "He seemed to care more for your safety than his own, he took the brunt of the impact while shielding you, it is quite refreshing to see humans care for a young one such as yourself!"

There was a groan from the cell and Papyrus approached it with the girl behind him, they both saw Llain sitting up and struggling against the ropes bound around him "Well, I can't say this is the first time I've seen the inside of a cell, the experience has most certainly _not_ improved."

"You can cease your struggling, human!" Papyrus boasted, placing his hands on his hips "For I, The Great Papyrus, am a master at knot tying!" He opened the cell and grabbed the knot that secured the ropes and hauled Llain to his feet "Now, If you don't mind, I'll be taking you to the capital so you can explain why you were invading our lands!"

"Invading?" Llain scoffed "One man and a child don't make much of an invasion..." he was hauled out of the cell and staggered around, supported by Papyrus "If your so certain we're invading, why isn't the kid bound?"

Papyrus gasped and placed a hand on his chest "I would _never_ subject a fellow monster to the indignity of being captured by their own comrade, besides, I am certain you were, in fact, attempting to kidnap this child and take them into your lands, though I am grateful you put her safety first during your fall!" as the two argued, the girl was shocked by Papyrus' words.

"Monster?, you think I'm a...monster?" She questioned, looking at her winged form in a puddle below her "Is that...what I am?"

"Well, I could go over my list, if you don't mind!" Papyrus replied, pulling a scroll out of his pocket and unrolling it, letting go of Llain and letting him drop to the ground, he cleared his throat and read "Exhibit A: Humans do not have wings!" he pointed at the girls wings and to Llain's back to emphasize his point "And Exhibit B: Humans have round ears!" this time, he pointed to the girls ears, which came to a point "Which leads me to believe you are, in fact, a monster, such as myself, but you need not worry, I will return you to your rightful home!"

"And what of me?" Llain questioned, propping himself against the wall "I take it your king won't take kindly to a supposed 'invader'" Papyrus helped him stand and lead him over to the table and began administering medicine to his wounds.

"King Asgore may be a stern man when it comes to matters of war" Papyrus explained, covering the last of Llain's visible injuries "But I'm certain if you are not an invader as you say, he'll will be lenient, he may even give you a reduced sentence!"

"...You need to work on your bedside manner, friend" Llain replied, dropping his head "How about a deal?, You can take all of the gold I have on me, and you let us slink back into our lands?"

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that" Papyrus answered, helping Llain off of the chair "Even if you aren't an invader, I cannot in good conscience allow you to take this child back to your kingdom, Monsters tend not to last long in human lands, I've even heard tales of unarmed envoys being driven back across the border."

"I can assure you friend, she may have strange abilities, but she is no monster" Llain spoke "This young girl is as human as I am."

"But then how can you explain her wings and ears?" Papyrus asked "I may not have seen many humans in my life, but even I know these are not normal for a human!" he placed one hand on the girls' shoulder and the other on his chest "I will see to it myself that this young girl is returned to her family!"

"And how do you think you can accomplish that?" Llain inquired "You don't even know her name, granted...neither do I, how about, little miss, care to introduce yourself?"

"My name is...Frisk" The girl responded, smiling slightly "And...if it's alright with you two...I would like to go to the monster kingdom...perhaps there would be a place for me there..."

"Of course!" Papyrus cheered, patting Frisk's head "Zephina welcomes all monsters, of all shapes and sizes!" at that, he lead both Frisk and Llain out of the dungeon and into the barracks "We'll make for the capital once I have finished preparations!" he left the two alone and began preparing supplies for their journey.

As Papyrus gathered supplied, Llain turned his attention to Frisk "Hey, are you sure you want to stay?, I'm not so sure the monsters will be so accepting..."

Frisk nodded with a little smile on her face "I'm sure, the only place I felt accepted was in my village...and now that they've vanished...I."

Llain saw tears forming in her eyes and sighed "Well...we can leave that there for now, I'll not press further if you do not wish it, ah!, how rude of me, I'm Captain Llain, though there's no need for formalities around me, you can simply call me Llain" At that, Papyrus returned with a spear and a backpack strapped to his back.

"That should be everything!, are you both ready to depart?" Papyrus asked, the two nodded and they left the barracks, beginning the long trek from the border to the capital, as they traveled, Papyrus struck up a conversation with Frisk, who found that the skeleton, despite his initially threatening appearance, Frisk found him to be quite friendly, even offering to help Llain walk when his injuries flared up.

As the group walked, they soon came upon a group of six hooded men off the side of the road, they were standing in a circle and seemingly in a trance and chanting quietly "I don't like the looks of these blokes...let's just keep our heads down and not arouse suspicion..." Llain warned, keeping an eye on the group.

"Nonsense!" Papyrus said, waving at the men "Magic is quite common in Monster lands, and many use it for quite mundane things, perhaps these men are trying to enchant their soil for the upcoming harvest!"

"Do they look like farmhands?" Llain whispered, before they could get clear of the men, their chanting grew louder and black clouds rolled in over them "I don't think this is going to help with harvests..." before the clouds could converge, one of the cultists took notice of the group and whipped around to face them.

"You have ruined the ritual!" He bellowed, pointing at them "The Praetorites only appear to those who have sworn fealty to them!" at that, he drew his sword and raised it high "Brothers!, we must destroy these interlopers to appease the Praetorites!"

"Well, we've stepped in it now" Llain sighed, shoulder-checking one of the cultists as he charged towards them "Papyrus, untie me, we can even the odds that way!"

"Do not worry, Llain!" Papyrus cheered, knocking a cultists back with the butt of his spear "These fools are no match for The Great Papyrus!" he then dodged a magic spell and dispatched one of the cultists before hitting another across the face with the shaft of his spear.

"Grab the child!" A cultist ordered, conjuring a fireball in his hand "A hostage may change their tone!" as one of the cultists beared down on Frisk, she quickly pulled out her stone again and transformed, blowing him away with a tail swipe.

"Four left..." Llain counted, he examined the battlefield and noticed that Papyrus was being overwhelmed from both sides, he struggled against his ropes and finally got out of them, he picked up one of the fallen cultists swords and quickly rushed over to help Papyrus "Need a hand?"

"Not at all! *Pant *...The Great Papyrus...has enough hands!" Papyrus lied, trying to keep his composure as both cultists attacked him "Perhaps...you can assist Frisk" Llain looked over to Frisk and noticed she had one of the cultists on the run.

"Seems at least one of them has the sense to run" Llain snarked as he watched the man disappear behind the trees, he then took this opportunity to strike down one of the cultists "Let's rap this up and get on our way, right?"

Papyrus and the Cultist were locked in combat, Papyrus tried multiple times to stab the cultist, but he seemed to dodge every attack, Soon, Papyrus was able to trip him up and finish him off "There's one left!" before Papyrus could find the last cultist, he was struck by a fireball.

"You all will pay dearly for interrupting!" The leader shouted, slinging more spells at the group "The return of the ancients will not be halted!"

"Papyrus!, You go left, I'll flank right!" Llain planned, Papyrus nodded in agreement and they charged to attack the leader, but they were both repelled, knocked to the ground and struggling to get back up.

Frisk returned to the battle and saw the two of them on the ground "Frisk!, Get to the Capital!, Save yourself!" Papyrus yelled, leaning on his spear.

"No!" Frisk yelled, flying towards the conflict, standing between the leader and her allies "Let me help!" she then began blowing as hard as she could, nearly blowing the cult leader off his feet, she couldn't keep it up and eventually steamed out, falling over.

"Foolish child!" The leader yelled, about to bring his sword down on Frisk, but he was blocked by Llain's blade.

"Sorry, mate, I'll have to cut in for a moment" Llain said, knocking the man back before finishing him off, Llain sighed in relief once the conflict seemingly ended, he then turned to Frisk and saw that she was slowly turning back into her Human form, she tried to stand but she was forced down by her exhaustion "The way you fight, it's feast or famine with you, isn't it?"

"Sorry...I haven't really trained for this..." Frisk replied, Llain offered her his hand and helped her up "I just couldn't let you two get hurt, though" the two rejoined Papyrus and after they took a moment to rest, they investigated the fallen cultists, surprisingly, some of the bodies had vanished and turned to dust, while others remained behind, Papyrus knelt down and removed the man's hood and was shocked to find that the cultist was human.

"Humans and monsters working together?, Strange..." Papyrus observed, he then turned to investigate the circle the cultists were standing in "Hmm...these runes would indicate a summoning ritual...but what were they trying to summon?"

"Nothing benevolent, that's for sure..." Llain interjected, grabbing the sheathe off of one of the cultist and securing it to his belt before sheathing his sword "Well, perhaps your king would rather hear of this threat as opposed to my 'invasion'."

"Perhaps you are right" Papyrus conceded, he glanced around the field once more, making sure the battle was truly over "Let us be on our way" with that, the three set out once again, an ominous air hanging over them as they made their way to the Capital...

THE END

A.N: I thought this would be a refreshing change of pace, since it's been quite a while since I wrote a crossover, and sorry if this ending seems a bit abrupt, but my computer is about to restart and update, so I had to rush the ending slightly, anyway, I hope you enjoy nonetheless!


	2. Chapter 2

Emblemtale- The Ancients: Chapter 2- Strange Tidings

Papyrus, Llain, and Frisk continued on their path, with Llain silently watching their surroundings, making absolutely sure that they had not been followed, seeing this, Papyrus gave a hearty chuckle "Have no fear, Llain!, Our Kingdom has many means of surveillance, if we had been followed, our adversaries would not be able to hide from our magic!"

Llain sighed and relaxed, letting his shoulders sag "Apologies, Papyrus, being this far in foreign lands has me on edge" he then placed a hand on the sword at his hip "And those mysterious figures haven't added in assuaging my nerves, either..." he glanced down at Frisk, whose gaze had been on the ground for most of the journey "And what of you, little lady, how are you feeling?"

"I'm alright..." Frisk answered, giving Llain a small smile "But...I'm kind of excited...I've never been away from my village before!" Frisk's pace picked up when she thought of the capital ahead of them "It may sound weird to say...but I feel happy to be seeing the world now, even with the fighting..."

"Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus laughed, joining Frisk at the front of the group "I'm quite excited to show a fellow monster around the capital, as well!" He placed his hand on Frisk's shoulder and gestured for Llain to join them with the other "And I'm sure you'll get quite a tour of the kingdom as well, Llain, after we get through with whatever it is that the King has planned for you!"

Llain couldn't help but laugh at this statement "Thank you, Papyrus, I'll be sure to take you up on that offer once we reach the castle..." the lively conversation continued for a while, until the group at last reached an imposing ivory wall, engraved on the wall was the Delta Rune, the symbol of Zephina and the royal family of the monsters, the Dreemurs.

"Halt!, State your business!" A voice called from high on the wall, Llain and Frisk froze, trying to pinpoint where the voice came from "H-Hey...weren't there three of you just a second ago?, where did the other two go!?"

"Hail!, It is I, The Great Papyrus!" Papyrus shouted back, waving vigorously "I've come with a report from the border!"

"Another 'Human', Is it?" The guard scoffed, he then turned around and called to some unseen person behind him "Alright, Let 'em in!" at that, there was a cacophonous noise as gears grated against each other and the gate slowly opened, as they did, Papyrus dug through his bag and pulled out a length of rope.

"I...apologize, Llain" He began, turning to the mercenary "But I'll need to tie you up again, standard procedure, I hope you understand."

Llain looked at the rope and sighed "I don't suppose this is some sort of jest, is it?" seeing the look on Papyrus' face and as he wasn't making any motions to put the rope away, Llain's shoulders sagged "Alright, just make it quick..."

"I am glad you understand!" Papyrus cheered, starting to tie Llain up, after a couple of minutes, Llain's arms were bound and the group entered the kingdom, as they walked, Frisk noticed groups of monsters watching them, seeing this, she began fidgeting uncomfortably "Is everything alright, Frisk?"

"U-Um...it's just, all of these people watching..." She began, but she trailed off as she kept looking around, something about these crowds made her quite uncomfortable.

Llain laughed, looking around "Don't worry, Little lady, I have a feeling you're not the one their so interested in, I seem to be quite popular."

"They _do_ seem to be watching you quite intently..." Papyrus butted in "I must say, it is making me somewhat jealous!" Papyrus laughed and slapped Llain on the back "But do not worry, The Great Papyrus will not fall pray to these base emotions!" soon, they reached the castle, and Frisk could only stand in awe, the spires on the castle nearly reached the sky, and were such a bright white that it hurt her eyes "Frisk, are you coming?"

"Oh, Sorry!" She apologized, catching up to the other two "This castle is just so beautiful!" as they talked, they were met by to guards clad head-to-toe in black armor.

"Hail, Border Captain Papyrus" One guard quietly spoke, he saw Llain at the back of the group and simply nodded, he turned to his partner and whispered something, they both lowered their weapons and Papyrus turned to Llain and Frisk.

"Please, wait out here, I will explain the situation to the King" He explained "My brother should be in there as well, he seems to know practically everyone in the Kingdom, perhaps he can clear up if you truly are a Monster or not" with that, the great doors swung open and Papyrus entered the hall.

Papyrus looked around the hall, he could never get used to the immaculate size of the hall, he stared down to the end of the hall and saw King Asgore sitting on his throne speaking with his adviser, but couldn't see his brother anywhere in the hall, though he looked at the two in the hall and saw that they seemed to be having quite an intense conversation.

"Lord Asgore, I implore you, you must keep this pressure against the Humans!" The Adviser shouted "If we show any sort of weakness, they will double their efforts and destroy us!"

Asgore simply sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose "My friend, I do believe you, but we are running low on supplies, if we keep these skirmishes going, we won't have enough to keep going!" he then looked down the hall and saw Papyrus "Ah, Border Captain, what brings you here?"

The Adviser seemingly ignored Papyrus and kept talking to Asgore "My lord, you are making a crucial mistake, we have the power to overrun the humans, why do you let these battles drag out?!"

"Please, Councilor, we have guests, we can continue this conversation at a later date" Asgore said "For now, I'd like to here what the Border Captain has to say" The adviser sighed and walked away from the throne, muttering to himself.

Papyrus cleared his throat, nervous to be standing in front of the King "M-My Liege, I come bearing news from the border, I found a human at the bottom of the chasm and he seemed to have a young monster in his care, though he claims she is a human, and they are both witnesses to a strange cult that we discovered outside the kingdom."

"...I see" Asgore replied, carefully considering Papyrus' words "We shall deal with these problems one at a time, now, where are this 'humans'?"

"I left them out in the hall, I could go grab them if you like" Papyrus explained, Asgore nodded and Papyrus turned to leave the hall, before he opened the door, he heard a ruckus in the hall, he opened the door and saw Llain arguing with a fish-like monster clad in black armor.

"I guess the 'Mighty' Humans aren't so tough if one guard could take you out!" the figure boomed, taunting Llain.

"It's quite easy to taunt a man when his hands are bound, isn't it" Llain rebuked, seemingly unfazed by the taunts "But I can assure you, if I were free, I would show you a human's might..."

As the arguments went on, Papyrus could only stare, he looked around to see if anyone was going to stop them, as he looked, he saw his brother watching with Frisk by his side, who had a worried expression on her face, unsure of what to do in this situation, he approached him and tried to get his attention "Sans, what is going on here?!"

"oh, hey paps, undyne's making friends" Sans explained, gesturing towards the two as they continued to argue "i was gonna stop them, but it was pretty funny to watch..."

"Well, can we please stop them before someone gets hurt?" Papyrus asked, he then approached the two and reached out to Undyne "Excuse me, Captain, but could you please not hurt him, he still needs to stand trial."

"Pfft, I wasn't gonna hurt him!" Undyne laughed, grabbing Llain and putting him in a headlock "I was just messin' with him!"

"Be that as it may, we still need him relatively unharmed" Papyrus explained, Undyne let go of Llain and nodded while sighing "Thank you, now, let us get this over with" Papyrus grabbed Llain and opened the door, the group entered the room and approached the throne "Lord Asgore, I have brought the human here for you!" he then pushed Llain forward, taking care to not actually hurt him.

Llain struggled to keep his footing as he stood in front of the king, he had to admit, the king was quite an imposing figure, almost as terrifying as King Valtick himself, nevertheless, he resolved to keep his composure "Hello, Your Highness."

"Human, I promise you that I will grant you leniency if you are truthful" Asgore replied, his face stoic and unchanging "Now, I will ask you for your honesty, were you planning on invading our lands?"

Llain looked back at Asgore, trying to read his face " _No wonder he's king, that's quite an aura he exudes..._ " he the cleared his throat and replied "I was not, your highness, I was tasked by my king to find something in a village bordering our lands, he believed it was something that could put an end to this skirmishes before they escalated into an all out war."

Asgore listened intently and considered what Llain had told him "...Very well, I shall choose to believe you, and did you find this weapon?"

Llain glanced back at Frisk " _...Maybe it's best if I keep my theories to myself..._ No, Your Highness, my company did not find anything in the village...I'm beginning to think that it was nothing more than a wild goose chase, but, while we were looking around, we did find this child, she got scared and ran, before I could help her, the bridge snapped and sent us into the valley below, once I came to, your Border Captain had brought us to his barracks."

Asgore stared into Llain's eyes, trying to determine the validity of his statement "...You did not find this weapon, but you were trespassing on our lands, I am sorry, we will have to detain you until we can confirm what your story."

At this, Frisk ran forward "W-Wait!, You don't have to do that!" the entire court fell silent, shocked that this child spoke up against the king "Llain did nothing wrong!, it was an accident!"

"That may be the case" Asgore responded, bringing everyone back to their senses "But it still remains to be seen if he is completely innocent, he may have some ulterior motives, until we can decide his true nature, he will remain there, Guard Captain, would you please escort the human to the dungeon?"

Undyne approached Llain and grabbed the rope that bound him "So much for all of your bluster, eh?" she started to pull him away, but Frisk stood in front of them, trying to block their path.

"Wait, please!" Frisk pleaded, trying to stop Undyne "I swear, he wasn't trying to do anything bad!"

"Don't worry about me, little lady" Llain said, smiling at her "It'd be better for the both of us if I served my sentence without a fuss" even with that, Frisk would not budge.

"No!, It isn't fair!" She replied, trying to push Undyne back "This isn't right!" Undyne grabbed the collar of her tunic and lifted her up.

"You're starting to piss me off, kid!" Undyne roared, as the ruckus continued, with even Papyrus and Sans joining in, the door to the hall opened and a hooded figure entered.

"My lord...forgive me for intruding, but I believe there was another point to be made before your ruling?" The figure said, he lowered his hood and they revealed he was another goat-like monster "Something about a mysterious cult?"

"You are quite right, Asriel" Asgore replied, leaning back in his throne "But, as it stands, this cult does not seem to be a threat at the moment, right now, we should focus on these battles, we have no reason to believe that this cult even exists."

"Well, my lord, we have three witnesses right here" Asriel pointed out, gesturing towards Papyrus, Frisk, and Llain "And even if the humans were lying, do we have any reason to not believe Border Captain Papyrus, I, for one, believe there may be some merit to this."

"...If you are certain, I will not stop you from investing this on your own time" Asgore conceded, leaning forward "But I cannot assign you any resources, as they must be used for those on the battlefield."

"I understand, my lord" Asriel answered, he then turned to Undyne "Captain Undyne, please release that man, he just became a vital part to my investigation."

"Tch, fine" Undyne scoffed, shoving Llain forward "But I'll be coming along to keep an eye on him" Asriel simply smiled and nodded, before drawing his sword and cutting Llain free of his bindings.

"as expected of the royal tactician" Sans said, joining the group alongside Papyrus "guess i'll be coming along for this ride, too, just give me a minute to saddle up" With that, he left the group to go prepare.

"I apologize for any discomfort you may have felt on the way here" Asriel apologized, bowing to Llain "Please, do not look down on people like Papyrus and Undyne, they may be a bit rough, but they are just passionate about their positions, I'm sure that they meant you no harm."

"There's no need to apologize, I'm sure human soldiers would have reacted the same way" Llain replied, fixing his clothes "Thanks for the save though, I'm Llain."

"I heard, and I am Asriel, Royal Tactician in the army of King Asgore" Asriel introduced "And if it isn't too much trouble, would you be able to lead us to the place where you found these cultists?"

"It wasn't that far from the capital" Llain explained "We should be able to make it back there before sunset, with any luck, those four were the only ones in that area."

With that, the group began to leave, with Sans joining back up with them, now on horseback, as they walked, Frisk struck up a conversation with Asriel "I have to thank you for what you did for Llain back there, it just wasn't fair for him to arrest him for something he didn't mean to do."

"Yes, well, we're in a time of war" Asriel replied, a somber smile on his face "King Asgore was just looking out for the kingdom, he may make some wide leaps in judgment every now and then, but I assure you, he has the kingdoms best interests at heart and he truly means well."

"I think I understand" Frisk answered, nodding in agreement "He was just trying to keep the kingdom safe, but it still felt as if he was treating Llain unfairly."

"War certainly calls for leaders to make tough decisions" Asriel continued, putting a hand under his chin "Even if others may find those decisions unfair."

They were just about to reach the place where they encountered the cult, but Sans called for the group to stop "hold on...i've got a bad feeling about this..." they proceeded slowly and they saw that there were people standing over the bodies of the cultists, seemingly looting them "seems we're not alone..."

Llain looked at the people and his blood ran cold "I think I recognize them, allow me to go first, alright?" he stepped forward, but Undyne grabbed his arm.

"Yeah right, do you think we're that dumb?" She chided, letting go of his arm "How do we know you didn't set this up as some kinda ambush!?"

"If you think this is some sort of ploy, why don't you come with me and find out for yourself?" Llain rebutted, Undyne gritted her teeth and was about to reply, but she relented and nodded, following Llain out on to the field.

"Hail!, I didn't think I'd see your ugly mugs out here!" Llain called to the men in front of them, then he turned to Undyne and whispered "These men are part of my mercenary company, with luck, I should be able to convince them to leave" he then turned back to the men and began waving "Your captain has returned!"

"Captain Llain, is that you?" One man asked "We were certain that you had perished at the bottom of the ravine, we returned to the king and he instructed us to find proof of your death, he still expects us to find that weapon!"

"Well, I wish you the best of luck in this endeavor" Llain continued, he then gestured to the bodies "As for me, I have to assist with a special investigation around this area, so if you please, could you move on?"

"Wait, Captain, are you helping those monster scum!?" Another man piped up, and Llain heard a snarl escape Undyne' s mouth "How could you betray us like this?!"

"Now, now, Let's not be hasty" Llain replied, trying to diffuse the situation as best he could "I haven't betrayed anyone, this is something of a temporary alliance" Before he could explain the situation further, Undyne pushed him out of the way.

"And this 'scum' doesn't appreciate that language" She said, grabbing the man by his collar, she then reared back her fist and was about to punch the man, but before she could, an arrow flew out from the treeline and nearly hit the human she was holding.

"Captain Undyne has struck the first blow!" A voice roared out from the trees "And we shall have the last!" after that, a wave of Monster soldiers burst out from behind the trees with weapons drawn.

"It _was_ an ambush!" One of the mercenaries cried, drawing his ax "Sound the horn, call for back up!" another mercenary pulled out a horn and blew into it, the blaring of the horn filled the clearing and nearly drowned out all other noise.

"What of Captain Llain!?" Another mercenary questioned, as he fumbled with his sword "What do we do about him?!"

"He's a traitor!" Another cried, knocking an arrow into his bow "Treat him like you would these scum!"

"Damn!, so much for the diplomatic approach!" Llain sword, drawing his sword "Let's fall back to the others!" before they could, they found that the others had already joined them.

"Everyone, fight to incapacitate!" Asriel ordered, immediately falling into his role as Tactician "We need both sides to stand down before anyone gets hurt!" the others agreed and leaped into the fray, with Undyne and Papyrus fighting back-to-back, using the bottoms of their spears to knock out any enemies that came their way, while Sans rode around the battle, using his wind magic to knock enemies around, sending them careening into each other or into the surrounding trees, taking them out of the fight, making wind-related puns as he rode.

As the fighting raged on, Llain found himself surrounded by his former comrades "I don't supposed I could convince you lad to lay down your weapons, could I?"

"Shut your mouth, traitor!" A burly man yelled, swinging his ax at Llain, he tried to block it, but he was knocked to the ground "Get him, boys, maybe King Valtick will give us a reward for his head!" before the men could grab him, Frisk knocked them away with her tail.

"Thanks for the save, little lady!" Llain thanked, picking himself up "Let's clear these guys out before nightfall!" Frisk nodded and stood by his side "No need to keep me company, I'm more than a match for these fools, go see if anyone else needs help!" Frisk agreed and looked around to see if anyone needed help, she saw Asriel was surrounded as well, but before she could get to him, the ground beneath his opponents collapsed and they fell in a pit.

"Please, all of you, this is a misunderstanding!" Asriel called to the men in the pit "We are not your enemies, this violence doesn't need to continue!" the men in the pit seemed to hesitate at Asriel's words "We are simply passing through, this was not a confrontation, please, lay down your weapons!" with that, the men begrudgingly dropped their weapons and fell to one knee.

" _How was he able to get them to surrender so easily?!_ " Frisk thought, seeing Asriel help them out of the pit and letting them escape into the darkness of the forest " _I thought he was just a tactician...?_ "

"Frisk, Watch out!" Llain yelled, breaking her out of her thoughts as a man wielding a sword was about to attack her, but before he could, a fireball hit him and knocked him out, Frisk looked to where it came from and saw that Asriel was now wielding a tome "You okay, Frisk?"

"Yes, I'm fine" Frisk answered, recovering her composure, Llain nodded and went back into the fray " _I have to focus!_ "

As the two sides fought, neither noticed as the ground began to rumble, as though something large and powerful were approaching, in the distance, trees fell and animals scattered, soon, a giant being seemingly made of rock broke into the clearing, knocking monsters over with fallen trees "What is that thing!?" a panicked monster soldier yelled out.

"It's a trap from the humans!" Another monster yelled "Take it down and we can route them!" he rushed at the monster with his spear drawn, he stabbed the rock monster but it seemed to have no effect, the monster then grabbed him and tossed him against a nearby tree.

"It can't be hurt!" A monster cried, he dropped his weapon and ran "Retreat!, we can't defeat a monster like that!" as the monsters began to scatter, the rock man continued to lumber towards the humans, it stopped for a second, seemingly scanning them, before resuming its attack, breaking weapons and knocking humans away with one swing.

"We have to stop that thing before it gets to the border!" Asriel shouted over the chaos "If a being like that makes it to Vauland, they will surely blame it on the monsters!" following Asriel's lead, the group began attacking the rock monster, but it was unscathed no matter what they did.

"I'll stop it!" Frisk yelled, flying towards the being, which in response just hunkered down and stopped her, holding her back with one hand, soon, she found her strength leaving her and she reverted to her human form, the monster picked her up and was attempting to crush her.

"Stop!" Llain yelled, trying to attack the thing, with both Undyne and Papyrus joining him in the assault, but the monster kept squeezing Frisk, with her screaming out in pain "Let her go!" Llain began attacking with all his might, but it seemed to make no difference, the monster used its other hand and knocked the three of them away, it seemed ready to finish Frisk off, but before it could, a bolt of lightning his it and seemingly shorted it out, the group looked to where it came from and saw someone wearing the robes of the cultists "Who are you!?"

"There's no time to explain!" The figure replied "Take these, it's weak to lightning!" they then threw out two lightning-shaped swords.

Llain grabbed on sword and threw the other one to Asriel "Let's take this thing down!" he flourished the blade as energy crackled through it, he and Asriel began assaulting the monster, lightning dancing all over the battlefield, the mysterious cultist also brought a tome of lightning and gave it to Sans, who provided ranged support to the fight, soon, the monster stopped, falling to it's knees.

"Did we stop it?" Asriel asked, cautiously approaching it with his sword drawn, he poked the creature and when it did not react, he concluded that they had won "What is this thing?"

"It is called a Praetorite" The Cultist explained, she removed her hood and the monsters were shocked to find that they recognized her "An ancient being revived by a shadowy order...one I am ashamed to admit, I joined..."

"Alphys...that's where you went!?" Undyne yelled, trying to keep her voice from cracking in grief "We were sure you were kidnapped!"

Alphys found herself unable to look Undyne in the eye "Yeah...I'm not surprised you thought that, with how I left suddenly one night...but I now see that this cult isn't what I thought it was...I want to come back, I want to make things right!"

"Thank you, Alphys, I trust you will redeem yourself in time" Asriel answered, putting his hand on Alphys' shoulder "For now, let us rest up, if I recall, you know some healing magics, right, Alphys?"

Alphys nodded "I'll grab my staff and heal you all, I'll be right back!" with that, she disappeared behind the trees, eventually returning with a healing staff, the group sat and waited their turns as Alphys went down the line, healing each of them...

Meanwhile, back at the Zephina Capital, Asgore was consulting with his adviser once more "These are...troubling reports, my friend, are you certain?"

"Yes, my lord, Monster fighting Monster, strange stone beings of unknown design..." The adviser said "And in the middle of it all, those you assigned to investigate this cult, perhaps the human amongst them has somehow tricked them into participating in his schemes..." Asgore sat back in his throne, heavy thoughts now running through his mind "If the humans were able to convince them so easily, and they have weapons of this kind on their side, perhaps it is time to take the war to them?"

At the Same time in the Vauland capital, King Valtick was in a council with his Adviser as well "And you mean to tell me that these monsters have summoned some sort of otherworldly entity to combat our army?"

"Yes, my lord, Captain Llain's squad has returned and they report a strange stone like beast took to the field and fought against them, it seems as if the monsters have taken to summoning these strange entities to do their fighting for them" The adviser spoke, his raspy voice scratching through the hall "Perhaps it would be in our best interest to redouble our efforts and hit them even harder before they can amass an army of these being?"

"Hmm, you may be right..." Valtick agreed, a look of dire seriousness spread across his face, Both kings knew it could no longer be avoided, war was soon to break out between both races, and this incident had finally broke the dam...

A.N:

Again, sorry I had to post this a day late, I tried to make it longer to make up for that, I hope you enjoy nonetheless!


	3. Support Conversations Part 1

Emblemtale: The Ancients- Support Conversations 1

(Sorry I haven't updated this lately, I just haven't had time, but, anyway, I had this idea a while back and thought it would be a nice way to break up the action, if you'd rather I focus on action, don't be afraid to say so)

 _Llain and Frisk- Support C_

On the road back to the Monster Kingdom, the group decided to set up camp in order to recover their strength after their encounter with the Praetorites, after the camp was set up, Llain decided to get in some sword training in order to keep his skills sharp, he returned to his tent in order to retrieve his sword, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find it anywhere.

"Hmm, strange, I could've sworn I left it somewhere in here..." He muttered to himself "Perhaps I left it near the campfire?" he left his tent and went to the middle of the camp, where he found Sans tending to the fire, poking at the fire with a stick.

"hey, llain, need something?" Sans asked, not looking away from the glowing flames "lookin' a little lost, there, bud."

"I seem to have misplaced my sword" Llain explained, scratching his head, looking around the camp "I could've sworn I left it in my tent, but I damn near turned the thing upside down and couldn't find it, you wouldn't have happened to see it, would you?"

"well, it isn't around here, that's for sure" Sans answered, tossing his stick into the flame and watching it burn "but I have a feeling if you look behind the mess tent, you'll have this whole matter 'sword'-ed out, heh."

"Mess tent, huh?" Llain repeated, looking over to the long tent they used to hold meals "Thank you, Sans, I'll go check it out" Sans only gave a nod as a reply as Llain walked off and headed towards the mess tent, as he got closer, he could've sworn he heard quiet grunts coming from behind it, he walked around the tent and saw Frisk wielding his sword, struggling to effectively swing the blade, pulling off very amateurish swings, as well as getting the blade stuck in the ground, Llain chuckled to himself and spoke "Your footwork could be better, and you're over-swinging, you'll leave yourself open to a counter."

"Aaaaah!" Frisk screamed, dropping the sword to the ground, she quickly turned around and saw Llain standing there, a grin on his face "Llain!, I-I wasn't...It's j-just...um..." Llain then sighed, walking over and grabbing his sword.

"It's fine if you wish to learn swordsmanship..." Llain began, giving his sword a few test swings "...But you should at least ask one of us to lend a hand, self-teaching is all well and good, but you could hurt yourself if you don't know what you're doing."

Frisk didn't answer, her eyes locked on the ground, she soon looked up at Llain, a sad look in her eyes "I just...I don't want to be saved all the time, every time I go into my Dragon Form, I end up passing out, and if I don't use it, I'm just getting in your way, and if more of those...things show up, I want to help!"

Llain put his hand on his chin and closed his eyes in thought " _I can't argue with her logic...those things shrugged off most of our attacks...but putting her in danger isn't ideal either..._ " He opened his eyes and saw Frisk staring up at him, nearly on the verge of tears, but he could see determination behind the sadness " _This kid has some fire..._ " he finally let out a sigh and responded "...Right, If you want to learn, we may as well start now, Undyne is guarding the equipment tent, go see her and ask for two wooden swords and we'll get this underway..." Frisk smiled before nodding and running off, leaving Llain on his own " _...Should I really be teaching this kid to fight?_ "

Before Llain could continue his train of thought, Frisk returned as quickly as she had left, holding two thick tree branches "Um...we didn't have any wooden swords, but Undyne gave me these instead...will these work?"

Llain took one of the branches from her and turned it over in his hand, he then swung it to test its weight "Well, it's not ideal, but it'll work, I suppose" he then suddenly swung out at Frisk, who only barely blocked it "Quick reflexes, that's good."

"U-Um...do you think you could give me a warning before you do that again?" She asked, shaking the pain from her hands.

"An enemy on the battlefield won't be so courteous" Llain told her, he then brought up his stick in a defensive position "Now, your goal will be to disarm me, got it?"

Frisk looked at the stick in her hands and then looked at Llain, who gave her a reassuring nod, she then adopted a more serious expression and nodded "Got it!" she readied her stick and charged, determined to knock the stick from Llain's hand, but he was quick, able to deflect and redirect all of her strikes, even knocking her down at one point.

"Come now, little lady, don't you wanna learn?" Llain taunted, trying to get a rise out of her "You wouldn't last long on a battlefield!" he helped her to her feet and blocked her again when she tried to go for a sneak attack "Saw that coming a mile off!" she tried one last attack, but he was able to counter and send the stick flying from her hands "Hmm...perhaps it would be best if we left it there for today.

"...Alright..." Frisk replied, a hint of disappointment in her voice "...Can we...try again later?, please?, I want to help when we get attacked!"

"Sure, we'll keep training until you're as good as me" Llain answered, patting her on the head "You just name the time and place, Little lady, and I'll help you out."

"Thank you so much, Llain!" Frisk cheered, her smile returning "I promise, I won't let you down!" seeing the sun starting to set, they decided to return to their tents, talking about what they should focus on next...

 _Sans and Papyrus- Support C_

After the group had set up camp, Papyrus busied himself with various tasks around the camp, such as making sure all of their equipment was accounted for, as well as making sure the perimeter was safe, as he continued his sweep of the perimeter, something caught his attention, there was a strange rustling in a nearby bush.

"Hmm...there's something in that bush..." He thought, readying his spear "It may be an animal, some hunting may be good for our supplies...but it may be an enemy" the rustling continued as he muttered to himself, Papyrus steadied himself and prepared his spear, he then lashed out, trying to catch whatever it was in the bush unawares, before the blow landed, something flopped out from the bush, and to his surprise, it was his brother... "SANS?!, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

He looked at the prone form of his brother, who was gently snoring, Papyrus let out an exasperated sigh and jabbed Sans in the skull with the blunt end of his spear, his eyes slowly opened and he looked up at Papyrus with his usual smile on his face "oh...hey bro, what's up?"

"WHAT'S UP!?, I nearly attack you and the best you can give me is 'what's up'?!" Papyrus yelled, rubbing his forehead "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"well, I thought this would be an ideal place to participate in one of my favorite pastimes..." Sans explained "the time honored tradition of...napping."

"I can not believe this..." Papyrus scolded, glowering at his brother "How have you kept a position in the kings army with such a poor work ethic?"

"well, I do tell a good joke" Sans responded, still laying on the ground "maybe he keeps me around in case his jester needs replacing?"

"Joke all you want, brother" Papyrus retorted, grabbing Sans under his arms and picking him up "But I swear to you, while the two of us are on this quest, I, The Great Papyrus, will make sure you work!"

"i'm gonna have to pass..." Sans protested, yet made no attempt to escape his brother's grasp "i do enough work as is..."

"Oh?, and why haven't I seen it?" Papyrus questioned, carrying Sans back to camp, then taking him to the equipment tent.

"well, most of my work is behind the 'seen's, geddit?" Sans joked, waiting for his brother to laugh "Oof, tough crowd, so, why are we here?"

"Your first task!" Papyrus replied, holding up one finger "Will be to assist me on examining all of our equipment and making repairs, should they be needed!"

"eh, i'm sure all our equipment is fine..." Sans answered, trying to leave the tent, but Papyrus quickly blocked his escape

"If you are so sure, then this should take no time at all!" Papyrus said, a disconcerting smile on his face "It should take us at least until sunset!"

"right...no time at all..." Sans sighed, looking at the stock of arms and armor behind him, bracing himself for the task ahead of him...

 _Alphys and Undyne- Support C_

Alphys had been put in charge of the mess tent for that night, being one of the few members of the group least likely to burn down the camp or poison the other members, she set about preparing a pot of soup, checking her recipe time and time again, making sure that every minutiae was prepared and accounted for, after a while, she completed the soup and called the others to dinner, as they funneled in, she could have sworn Undyne shot a disquieting look towards her.

"W-Well, I haven't tried this recipe before..." She explained, ladling her creation into the bowls laid before her "I-I hope you enjoy it!"

"Thank you, Alphys!, It smells amazing!" Papyrus thanked, leaving Alphys and the others, aside from Sans, baffled as to how he could even smell, after that, dinner went off without a hitch, everyone talking and sharing stories, with Llain regaling the group of interesting jobs his mercenary company went on, once everyone was finished and the cleanup was complete, they all began to leave, except for Undyne, who stayed behind, seemingly wrestling with thoughts, Alphys meekly approached her and finally worked up the nerve to speak "U-Um...Undyne, a-are you okay?"

Undyne was silent for a moment, but then spoke "Am I okay?, How can you ask that?!" She suddenly slammed her fist on the table, cracking it slightly, causing Alphys to jump back "You disappeared from the kingdom a year ago and now you just show up like nothing happened!?" she then snarled, cutting off any reply Alphys may have had "Do you know how hard I looked for you!?, Hell, I was about ready to cross the border!"

She finally fell silent, her angry breathing the only sound in the tent, after she let that out, Alphys spoke, her voice wavering "I-I admit...I was gone a long time...I got t-too wrapped up in my research..."

"Well, I'm sorry we got in the way of your 'research'!" Undyne scoffed, getting up from the table "...Thanks for the soup..."

"Undyne, wait!" Alphys called, tears building in her eyes "I truly am sorry, I meant to return after a month at most, but what I found enthralled me!, What can I do to make it up to you!?"

"You wanna make it up to me?" Undyne questioned "How about you think of other people's feelings before you just up and leave next time, huh?" with that, Undyne left the tent, leaving Alphys alone in the tent, with only her thoughts accompanying her...

THE END!

A.N: Sorry to leave it on such a heavy note, but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless, and again, if you think I should focus on the Action, don't be afraid to tell me!


	4. Chapter 3

Emblemtale: The Ancients- Chapter 3: Verge of War

Unbeknownst to our heroes, in a location where no light could touch, sinister schemes and plots were being formed, a group of four cultists stood in a circle, performing the ritual to summon a Praetorite, as they continued chanting, a figure in a maroon robe, laced with gold, setting him apart from the other cultists, watched the ritual from afar.

As he watched, a cultist approached him "My lord!, we have reports from our spies!" the messenger bowed down before continuing his message "The kings of the Human and Monster kingdoms are on the brink of declaring war on one another, everything is proceeding as planned!"

The leader laughed at this news, a deep and foreboding cackle "Excellent!, We should be able to proceed with our plans, and then both kingdoms will be nothing but a memory..."

"Th-Though...that isn't the end of my report, my lord..." The messenger resumed, nerves causing his voice to waver "There may be...unexpected complications with our plans..." the master fell silent, unnerving the messenger even more, he looked up and saw that the master was glaring down at him, anger burning in his eyes.

"Complications?, what do you mean, complications?" he asked, slowly walking away from the messenger.

"Um...well, there seems to have been a traitor in our midst..." The messenger replied, looking back at the ground, not wanting to meet his master's gaze "She...she betrayed our order and left with the secrets of the Praetorites...even the secret to defeating them..."

The master stopped his pacing and stood completely still, not answering, the messenger nervously cleared his throat and carried on "A-And...she seems to have joined up with a group of both humans and monsters...our spies are worried that they could be quite a thorn in our side...and one among them seems to be a Dragonblood..."

"...A traitor?" The master repeated, folding his arms behind his back "And did we...know of this traitor?" he glanced back at the messenger, who did not answer him "Your silence is all the conformation I need, but then, that leaves only one question..."

"A-And what would that be, my lord?" The messenger nervously asked, suddenly, the master whipped around and grabbed the messenger by the neck "My lord!...Please!"

"If you were aware of this traitor, how could you allow them to live?!" He bellowed, tightening his grip on the messengers neck "And how could you allow them to leave, knowing our secrets!?" as the messenger struggled against his grip, the master raised his other hand and began charging a dark spell

"Master...please, have mercy...I can make it up to you!" He gasped, trying to pry the master's hand off of his throat "I know their location!"

The master did not release him, leaving him nearly blue, until finally, he stopped his spell and let him fall to the floor, gasping and coughing "If you truly do know their location, I shall grant you a second chance, eliminate the traitor and their group, but leave the Dragonblood alive, I believe I can find a use for them."

"Y-Yes * cough cough * my lord, I shall depart right away!" The messenger wheezed, shakily standing "They will not escape me this time!" with that, he quickly ran off, when he was gone, the master looked over to the ceremony and saw that a Praetorite had slowly begun to rise from the ground.

"Hm hm hm, these interlopers shall pay dearly for attempting to divulge our plans" He muttered, observing the rock being emerge "And once they are gone, their shall be nothing standing in our way!" he then began laughing wildly, making grandiose, sweeping gestures with his arms...

Back with our heroes, they had begun to break camp as the sun started to rise over the horizon, preparing to make their way back to the Monster Capital, as they prepped, Asriel wrote down what they had experienced on the first foot of their investigation "We can present this to Lord Asgore, it should serve as evidence when we make our case."

"good thinking, he could easily claim we made it up without proof" Sans agreed, fastening a pack onto his horse "not that I doubt lord asgore or anything, but with his mind on the battles, he doesn't seem to give a damn about our investigation."

"Well, he should!" Undyne chimed in, carrying what seemed like half of the camp on her back and not even straining "With these weird things on the prowl, it's a huge threat to everyone!"

"Loathe as I am to agree with her" Llain interjected, joining the group "If these things are able to cross the border, they'll not only wreak havoc on the both armies, but the innocents on both sides won't stand a chance either."

Asriel finished up his writing and placed his notebook into the pocket of his robes "Well, I have made up my mind, no matter what Lord Asgore says, I will continue investigating this cult, I cannot stand idly by as these cultists continue to summon these creatures, and I trust you all agree?"

"Of course, it would not fit for a member of the prestigious army of Lord Asgore to allow these atrocities to continue!" Papyrus cheered, approaching the group with Alphys at his side and a sleeping Frisk on his back "It seems that daybreak was to early for some of us."

"She's not the only one..." Alphys yawned, stretching out her arms "...I may have spent too much time on research..." with that, the group set out down the road, whiling away the journey with stories and lighthearted jokes, trying to keep their minds off of the dire task laid before them...

Earlier in the morning, before the sun had even begun to rise, Asgore made his way to the castles armory, once inside, he saw his red trident and radiant silver and gold armor on display, he approached the armor and placed his hands on the breast.

"* Sigh * I had dreaded that this day would come" He lamented, closing his eyes momentarily "I had wished there was some way I could have avoided this, but it seems the humans leave us little choice..." before he could become lost in his thoughts, he heard the door open and saw his wife, Queen Toriel standing in the doorway.

"...You're leaving, aren't you?" She asked, not meeting Asgore's gaze "Must it be this way?, Is peace truly impossible?" Asgore didn't reply, he instead removed his robe and began putting his armor on, once it was on, he took his trident in hand and tested his weight, making sure he was still able to wield it "Why do you have to step on the battlefield!?, What of your family?, What of our son!?"

"Our son would understand" Asgore simply replied, trying to leave, but Toriel wouldn't budge "Please, my love, I must do this, I cannot allow my troops to die for me while I sat around!" despite his protests, Toriel stood her ground "Tori...I know my leaving must be hard for you, but I need you to stay here and protect the Capital..."

"Gods...you are stubborn" Toriel conceded, stepping out of the way "Fine then, if this is what you wish, I will not stop you, but if I hear you have been injured, I will march onto that battlefield and drag you off of it myself"

"And may the Gods preserve the ones who injured me" Asgore joked, pulling Toriel close "For they do not know the fury of an angered wife" with one final kiss, Asgore left the armory and left Toriel behind, trying to compose herself before she returned to the throne room...

At the same time, In the Capital of Vauland, Valtick had gathered his men in the throne room, standing at the head of the room, he was dressed in an imposing suit of Crimson Armor "Men!, The time has finally come, those fools in Zephina have made their intentions clear, creating these strange golems, turning our most stalwart allies against us!, they have forced our hand and we will ride to meet them on the field of battle, now, I ask of you, are you ready to fight for your kingdom!?"

"Yes, M'lord!" The men boomed, saluting their king and standing firm.

"These scum will not show you mercy!, are you willing to face down death on the field?!" Valtick roared, trying to rouse the men.

"Yes, M'lord!" The men cried once again, raising their weapons in the air.

"And if they bring out these golems?, Will you waver?, Will you give them an inch?" Valtick questioned, grabbing his axe off of his throne "Will you fall?!" 

"No, M'lord!" The men yelled, cheering, Valtick raised his axe and let out a war-cry, and with that, the men turned and charged out of the castle, ready for the war that awaited them, leaving Valtick in the throne room with his servants.

"Now then, Bring me my steed!" Valtick ordered, preparing himself for the battles as well "I will ride to join them!" the servants quickly left to prepare Valtick's steed, while they did that, he began planning out the battles in his head "I will make these fools regret this war..." as the servants led his horse into the throne room, he saddled up and quickly rode off, soon joining his men on their march...

Back with the heroes, they had finally reached the capital, once the gates had opened, they started to make their way to the castle, but before they could reach it, they were stopped by a giant crowd of monsters blocking their way.

"Excuse us, let us through!" Asriel spoke, trying to talk over the din of the crowd "Please, we have urgent business at the castle!"

"Haven't you heard?" A monster from the crowd answered "No one's being allowed in the castle while the army is prepping for the war, we we're all waiting out here to give them our well-wishes."

"What!?, They're going to war?!" Asriel shouted, awestruck that things had escalated at the rate they did "We have to talk to the king, before he leaves!" he then began forcing his way through the group, trying to get to the castle.

"Hey!, Wait for us!" Undyne yelled, shoving her way through the crowd, chasing after Asriel as the others apologized for their behavior, finally, they found themselves at the front of the crowd, where they saw that the army had begun pouring out of the castle, with Asgore heading the charge.

"Wait, M'lord!" Asriel called, approaching Asgore "What is the meaning of this?, Why are you riding off to war!?" Asgore did not answer, as he seemed to actively avoid Asriel's eyes "It's too dangerous for you to be on the battlefield, especially while these cultists are still active!"

"...It is my duty as a King" Asgore simply replied, still refusing to look at Asriel "I cannot simply ignore my soldiers that are giving their lives for my sake..." with that, he continued to march on as the crowd cheered for the departing soldiers, giving them their best wishes and telling them that they will pray for their safety.

"Damn...I had hoped a full-blown war would be farther off..." Llain cursed, watching the army march away "This certainly isn't going to make our investigation any easier."

Frisk watched as Asriel kept his gaze locked on the shrinking form of Asgore "Asriel...are you going to be okay?" She approached him and put a hand on his shoulder "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Asriel didn't seem to realize Frisk was there at first, upon noticing her, he jumped slightly and shook off his nerves "Oh, Frisk, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there..." he tried to make himself sound happy, but Frisk could tell, something was eating at him inside, but she wasn't sure what it was "A-Anyway, perhaps we should report to the Queen..."

"But, Asriel!..." Frisk tried to continue, but Asriel walked off towards the castle, leaving the others behind, Frisk was soon joined by Papyrus and Sans.

"don't let the goat get yours, okay, kid?" Sans said, tousling her hair "asriel's working through some stuff, he'll be fine on his own, he's got a knack for working things out, just give him time."

"Still, doesn't it seem strange?" Papyrus wondered, placing a gloved hand under his chin "Why was Asriel so upset at the King leaving?, isn't he just the tactician of the King's army?"

"don't worry about it, paps" Sans said, walking towards the castle "i'm sure you'll figure it out on your own in time..."

"Sans!, Don't leave me guessing!" Papyrus yelled, giving chase to his brother "This question cannot go unanswered, tell me what you know!"

Frisk was stunned, she wanted to help Asriel, but she wasn't sure what she could do for him, soon, she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Llain standing next to her "Seems our little investigation just hit a new bump, eh?" he then walked forward and gestured for her to follow "Well, I guess we should follow, coming?" Frisk nodded, still thinking about Asriel...

THE END!

A.N: I've been trying to diversify my stories, trying to not have every chapter be bogged down by too much action, but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless!


	5. Chapter 4

Emblemtale: The Ancients- Chapter 4: Twin Sides

Back in Vauland, a hooded figure watched King Valtick's speech and how he had rallied the troops so effectively with simple words, once the throne room had been emptied, the figure made their way deeper into the castle and entered the library, where two men were waiting.

One was a young man with ruddy, red hair, leaning back in his chair with a bored expression on his face "Come on, Livi, this is boring!" he whined, throwing his head back "Why aren't we going to join King Valtick on the battlefield?"

The other was an older man, with long black hair, he was diligently reading through the book in front of him, and without looking up, he stabbed a dagger into the table, scaring his companion "I've told you, Agate; My name is Lavernius, Not Livi..." he pulled his dagger from the table and shifted his eyes towards the new arrival "...So, What have you learned?"

The figure then took of their hood, revealing a beautiful young woman with pale skin and flowing blond hair "It's as I've feared...Father fully intends to join the war as well..." she walked over and sat at the table, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Aw, don't worry about it, Princess Serene" Agate said, patting her back "He's been through a lotta battles, I don't think one more is gonna kill him...well...maybe with these weird rock thingies walkin' around, he might have a hard time..." Agate kept rambling on about the chances of Valtick dying, until he was silenced by a glare from Lavernius.

"M'Lady, I am certain that these reports are false" Lavernius reassured her, standing up from the table "But, if it will assuage your fears, I will set out right away to ensure the kings safety" he placed a hand on his heart and bowed "With your permission that is..." Before Serene could reply, Agate spoke up.

"No way, man!" He yelled, standing up and slamming his hands on the table, knocking some books over in the process "You're just trying to go off and get all the glory to yourself, tryna brown-nose the princess!" He grabbed his magic tome from off the floor and stomped over to Lavernius "But I'm not gonna let you do that, I'm gonna go with you, Livi!"

"It. is. Lavernius!" Lavernius responded, placing a hand on the hilt of his dagger, nearly drawing it "I despise that nickname and you know it!" as they argued, Princess Serene remained silent, but Lavernius noticed she looked as if she wished to say something "Is something the matter, Princess?"

"...I will go to the battlefield myself!" Serene announced, standing from the table and making her way towards the door "I am no longer a child, I can handle myself" She opened the door and looked back at her retainers with a smile "Besides, is it not a Princess' duty to protect the citizens of her kingdom from the horrors of war?"

With a shared look of shock between them, Lavernius and Agate followed Serene as she made her way to the armory, both of them trying to convince her to stay off of the battlefield, though they both knew that there was no way to sway her opinion...

Back in Zephina, the heroes had made there way into the castle and found the Queen sitting on the throne, seeming wistful "Hello, is there something you need?" she then seemed to regain her composure when Asriel approached "Oh, Asriel, is everything alright?"

"No, it's not alright!" Asriel shouted, uncharacteristically angry "How could King Asgore think to run off with these Praetorites roaming around!?" he took a deep breath and cleared his throat "I...I am sorry, my queen, I don't know what came over me, please, forgive that outburst..."

Queen Toriel rose from the throne and approached Asriel, a placid and loving smile on her face "It's quite alright, Asriel, your concern for the king is quite a touching sentiment" she placed bent down, placing her hands on Asriel's shoulders and kissing his forehead "But...you know that he can be quite stubborn, he was set on fighting beside his soldiers long before this whole mess started."

She stood back up and tousled his hair "I am glad to see you have not lost your kind heart..." she then turned, walking back to the throne, as she did, Papyrus watched her and Asriel, rubbing his chin, deep in thought.

"Hmm...Ah!, I've got it!" He said, tapping his open palm with his fist, he then turned to his group with a triumphant look on his face "Fear not, my friends, For I have solved this mystery!" he then turned to the queen and Asriel, who were going over Asriel's report "I have deduced why The Royal Tactician looks so much like the king and queen!" he adjusted his scarf, which had been fluttering majestically behind him, even though there was no breeze "Asriel...Is a magically created clone!, Combining the intelligence of the Queen and the military might of the King!"

Llain could barely stifle his laughter as he replied "Clone, huh? * Snort * you're not that far off, Papyrus" seeing how confident Papyrus was in his answer only made his laughter harder to contain.

"* sigh * swing and a miss, bro..." Sans sighed, chuckling slightly "well, anyway, i'm gonna go see grillby, he should have something to help us with our trip" with that, Sans turned around and waved as he left the throne room.

"Well, while we wait, we should plan our next move" Llain said, turning to Alphys, who had been watching everything unfold silently "You were part of their order, do you have any idea where they could hiding out?"

Alphys nodded and pulled a map out of her knapsack "Before I left, I copied one of their maps and marked several locations that I think are important to them" She knelt down on the floor and unrolled the map, pointing at several locations marked with dark red X's "If we investigate these spots, we should be able to figure out what they're doing, maybe we could even find their main hideout!"

"Alright then!, let's find the closest one and bash their heads in!" Undyne threateningly roared "Those guys are gonna pay for...whatever it is they're doing!" without waiting for anyone to reply, Undyne charged out of the throne room, with Alphys hesitatingly following.

"Well...I'd be lying if I said she wasn't spirited..." Llain spoke, watching as the doors swung closed, he then felt something tugging on his sleeve, he looked down and saw Frisk looking up at him with a worried look in her eye "What's wrong, little lady?"

"Um...I wanted to talk with you about something, if that's alright..." She started, gripping the hem of her tunic with her free hand "I-I know it's selfish, but I thought we could try and find my real family?" she looked back at Papyrus, who was still watching Asriel and Toriel, trying to make connections "What if Papyrus is right? What if I am a Monster?"

Llain took a moment to consider her words "If Papyrus _is_ right, then we'll look for your family while we investigate" he compromised, giving her a reassuring smile "We'll have to pass through some towns along the way, so we're bound to hear something about a missing child, right?"

Frisk smiled back up at him "Right!, Thanks, that makes me feel better, but..." she turned away from him and after a moment, looked back with a renewed confidence "I want to help you guys too!"

"Nyeh, heh, heh! Well said, Frisk!" Papyrus cheered, rejoining the two "We shall all see this through to the end!" as he talked, they noticed that Asriel had finished reporting to the queen, and was making his way towards them.

"...I believe that I have reported all that I can" He said, still sounding a bit upset "Anyway, shall we join the others?, I believe I heard Undyne leave."

"Yes, she did, my clone friend!" Papyrus replied, throwing an arm around Asriel "She and Alphys have gone on ahead to plot our course, and my brother has gone to acquire supplies...at least, that's what I believe he is going to do at Grillby's..."

"Ah, I see, then we should waste no time joining them..." Asriel said, the four of them started to leave the throne room, but Asriel suddenly froze in place "...Wait...clone?" he shook off the strange comment and went after the others, they made their way out of the castle and found Sans waiting outside with a horse-drawn wagon and a man that looked as though he were made of fire.

"everyone, this is grillby" Sans introduced, gesturing towards the man, who silently bowed at the group "he's agreed to join us as our quartermaster; he'll take care of things like weapons and armor, as well as repairs."

"Pleasure to meet you, Grillby" Llain greeted, holding out his hand "I hope you don't mind traveling with a human" he waited for Grillby to shake his hand, but he never did "Oh...I suppose it would be a foolish idea to shake hands with you" Llain instead politely bowed.

"he doesn't talk much, but he's a decent guy" Sans explained, hopping into the back of the wagon, he stuck his head out and called to the others "come on, alphys has already plotted our course, we're headed east" the others climbed into the back of the carriage and they set off.

As they went down the road, Frisk decided to look through their supplies, mainly to allieviate her boredom, as she looked through the chests Grillby had loaded, she found something that had caught her attention; a beautiful white dress with purple embroidery, and it was about her size too.

Once she had found the tunic, she made her way to the front of the carriage and tried to get Grillby's attention "Um, excuse me?, where did you get this tunic?" Grillby glanced back as Frisk held up the clothes for him to see, Grillby had remained silent, but just as Frisk was about to give up, he spoke.

"It belonged to my daughter when she was around your age" He told her, he looked back at the dress and seemed lost in memories for a moment "Ahem, she's much older now, and she's outgrown that dress, so I don't believe she'll notice it missing, you can have it if you wish."

Frisk looked at the dress, slightly awed "Thank you, Mr. Grillby!" she took it and went to the back of the carriage and showed it to Llain "Look!, Mr. Grillby let me have this dress!" Llain looked at the dress and then glanced up at Grillby.

"Guess Sans was right about him being a good guy" he said, Frisk sat across from him, still looking at the dress "Well, we'll need to make some alterations to it when we get to the next town, but I think you'll look pretty cute in it."

As they talked, Alphys joined them "I just finished finalizing the plan with Sans and Undyne" she pulled her map out of her bag and unrolled it, tracing a line from the castle along the east coast and ending at the mountains in the north "We'll hit these spots along the way, and we believe that this last spot in the mountains will be their main base, if we're right about this, we should be able to stop them before they cause any more chaos."

"Alright, let's pray these bastards don't see us coming" Llain replied, looking at the map "This whole thing could go up in smoke with one wrong move..." with that, Llain and Alphys began planning for any eventualities that could occur, trying to ensure that their investigation went off without a hitch...

Meanwhile, Back in Vauland, Serene, Agate, and Lavernius made their own preparations for their journey, making sure that they had enough supplies for the road ahead of them, as he took inventory, Lavernius turned and looked at Serene "You know, Princess, you don't have to do this, we can relay any message you have for the king."

"Thank you, Lavernius..." Serene said, not looking at the rogue and continuing to secure her horses saddle "But any message I have for my father, I would prefer to deliver I myself" once the saddle was secure, she hopped up onto her horse and began riding towards the doors "Besides, If any of those soldiers were hurt, I would not be able to bear their loss, I must make sure they all return home safely."

Lavernius let out an irritated sigh and saddled his own horse, quickly catching up with Serene "But must I remind you that you are the Princess?" Agate soon joined them as well, flanking Serene on her other side "And that these monsters may capture you and try and use you as leverage, or worse?"

"Ha!, You think any of those beasts are gonna get within a foot of her without meeting the business end of that axe!?" Agate laughed, motioning towards the large axe hanging off the side of Serene's saddle "That thing looks like it could do some _serious_ damage!"

"* Sigh * Alright, once again, I shall be the only one going into this with a modicum of reason..." Lavernius snarked, pinching the bridge of his nose "But if the princess ends up bound and gagged in the enemy camp, I reserve the right to snark and say I told you so..."

"Don't worry about it, Livi!" Agate brushed off his comment "If we're around, she won't even _know_ there are enemies around!" as they rode off, Lavernius and Agate began to argue about Agate using that nickname, and Serene could only laugh, used to this display from her retainers...

THE END...

A.N: I hope you guys enjoy the switching pov's, I got kinda inspired to do something like this from Shadows of Valentia, anyway, if you have anything to say, positive or negative, don't hesitate to tell me!


	6. Chapter 5

Emblemtale: The Ancients- Chapter 5: Recon

(Sorry for the late post, procrastination hit me hard today...)

Frisk's group soon found themselves in a small town along the coast of Zephina, they decided to stop off to see if they could gather any information on the Cult, or if anyone had run-ins with the Praetorites.

They decided to split up in order to gather information; Frisk, Llain, and Undyne were one group, and Asriel, Sans, Papyrus and Alphys were the other one, with Grillby staying behind to keep an eye on their wagon and the supplies, Frisk's group decided to search the North District, while Asriel's searched the South.

In the North District, Frisk's group stopped at a square to examine a map of the town "Alright, here in this district, there are three points of interest, I'd say" Llain spoke without looking up from the map "We've got; a Blacksmith, a Tailor, and a Tavern, who should go where?" he rolled the map back up and placed it in his pack, waiting for the others to reply.

"I'll head to the Smithy!" Undyne declared, pointing her thumb in the direction of the forge "I know the old bastard who runs the thing, I should be able to get some info outta him, what about you guys?"

"I think it'd be best if I went to the tavern" Llain decided, gesturing towards the aforementioned building "Sure, I won't blend in much, but I can keep a level head, and I doubt they'd let a child in" he then turned to Frisk "We'll leave the tailor to you, think you can handle that?" She nodded with a big smile on her face "Alright, if they aren't forthcoming with information, try giving them the puppy eyes, might work."

With that, the three split off and went to the different shops, Undyne made her way into the forge and was immediately overwhelmed by the heat of the forge "Man, he keeps this place as hot as ever..." she walked up to the desk and rang the bell that sat there.

"Jus' gimme a minute, I'm almost finished back here!" A raspy, but familiar, voice called out to her "This dern hilt just won't. Sit. Straight!" every word toward the end of his sentence was punctuated with a blow of the hammer, Undyne soon heard grumbling from the back and the owner made his way to the front, he exited from the back of the shop and was revealed to be an old-tortoise like Monster "So, Whaddya want done? Armor? Weapons? I can getcha almost anything! Even tea!"

When he finally saw who was standing there, he was momentarily in shock "Hey, Gerson!, how the hell are you!?" Undyne yelled, she quickly grabbed the turtle and pulled him into a hug "Haven't had much time to come visit, sorry about that!"

"It's alright, Undyne..." Gerson gasped, trying his best not to be split in half by the hug "I know bein' captain of the guard don't leave much time for leisure!" she finally let him go and set him on the ground "So, what brings you 'round to these parts? King Fluffybuns finally let the guards have a night off?" as he talked, he gestured for Undyne to follow him to a side room, which was revealed to be a kitchen "Sit down, I'll make some tea."

"Thanks, Gerson, but that's not really necessary" Undyne said, sitting down at a nearby table while trying to stop him –but the old turtle busied himself with brewing tea that he didn't notice "Anyway, I didn't come by to catch up, I had some questions for you."

"Oh, The captain of the guard has questions for a humble blacksmith like me?" Gerson joked, setting a kettle over a burning fire "Well go on, ask away, I'll help if I can" he sat at the table across from her and waited for her to continue.

"Well, It's kind of a...strange story" Undyne began, almost about to recount the whole event before deciding against it "Uh, Anyway, that's not important- Right now, I need to ask you, have you seen anyone weird around town recently?"

"Weird?, I think you're on the wrong side of this continent if you want to see 'Normal', Wah ha ha!" Gerson laughed, getting up from the table as the kettle began to whistle "Anywho, I haven't really seen anything outta the ordinary here, though you might wanna head up north a bit, I hear there's been somethin' prowlin' around the mountains at night, could be what your looking for."

"Mountains up north, got it!" Undyne confirmed, getting up from the table "Thanks Gerson, but I gotta run!" Before she could move, Gerson was back at the table with the tea.

"You ain't gotta rush" he said, setting the two teacups down on the table "It's been so long since I've seen you, let's take a moment to catch up" He sat down and took a sip from the teacup, laughing off the pain from the heat "I'm dyin' to know what's been goin' on since I retired! How have you been gettin' on? Especially with that friend of yours, Alphys!"

"It's...complicated with Alphys..." Undyne admitted, finding that Gerson was one of the people she could truly let her guard down around, she sat back at the table and rested her head in her hand "She showed up again after months...and she didn't even say anything to anyone before she left..."

Undyne began talking at length about her problems with Alphys' sudden reappearance, and Gerson had found himself silently wishing that he hadn't brought up the subject, especially as Undyne's rant became more and more passionate, but he held his tongue and silently sipped his tea, letting her tirade continue...

Back outside, Frisk found herself mesmerized by the suits and dresses outside of the tailor shop, having spent most of her life in a small village, she was unused to this kind of beauty –as she looked on there was a laugh from the doorway and a voice spoke up "Y'know, if you keep standing there with your mouth open like that, you'll catch flies."

Frisk jumped slightly and looked at the source of the voice, it was a tall female rabbit monster, Frisk took a moment to catch her breath before replying "Um, I'm sorry, but is it okay if I ask some questions?"

"I'd be happy to help you any way I can, darlin', what do you need?" The woman asked, giving Frisk a warm and reassuring smile "Besides, it's a slow day, I think I can afford to let someone bend my ear for a bit."

"Thank you! I promise I'll be quick!" Frisk said, trying to keep her eyes off of the clothing in the shop windows "Well, My friends and I came here looking for some information, would you happen to know if anyone suspicious has been walking around?"

The woman took a moment to think, closing her eyes and resting her hand on her chin "Hmm...can't say that I have, darlin', but you'd be better off asking at the tavern –There's people from all over down there, they must've heard something."

"Oh...a friend of mine already went there" Frisk informed her, looking off at the tavern in the distance "But he said they wouldn't let me in there because of how young I am..." she turned away from the tavern and looked back at the tailor.

"Well, I can't in good conscience let a girl like you wait around all by herself" The tailor spoke, she them pointed inside the shop "Wanna wait inside? Heck, I might even let you try some of the stuff on, you'd be the first customer of the day!"

"A-Actually, if it's not too much trouble..." Frisk began, pulling off her knapsack and rummaging through it, she finally found what she was looking for and pulled the dress Grillby had given her out of it "Could you change this a bit?"

"Some alterations, eh?" The tailor asked, looking at the dress in Frisk's hands "Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard, and it'll be on the house, whaddya say?" Frisk happily nodded at the woman and followed her inside the shop...

Meanwhile, at the Tavern, Llain truly felt out of his element, monsters of all shapes and sizes walked around the bar, giving him glances every once in a while –some threatening, some scared "Well...I've had worse welcomes, all things considered..."

Keeping his head down, he made his way to the front of the bar and sat down at an available stool, still feeling the glares of the people around him burning into the back of his head, as he mentally prepared himself, the barman approached "Can I get you anything, friend?"

"...Yes, Just some ale" Llain ordered, looking down the bar and seeing more hostile faces looking towards him, as he waited for his drink, one hulking monster approached him " _By the gods, here we go..._ "

"What's a human doing this far into the Kingdom of Monsters, huh?" the monster asked, towering over Llain, who did his best not to seem intimidated "You spyin' on us for your king, or something?"

"Well, I'd make a bloody horrible spy, if I'm being honest" Llain replied, placing some gold coins on the bar as the barkeep brought his drink "What with announcing my presence to the enemy and all" he tried to raise the tankard to his mouth, but the giant grabbed his wrist and slammed his hand back onto the counter top –causing ale to spill everywhere.

"I just assumed every human was stupid enough to give himself away..." The giant taunted, giving Llain a malicious smile, flashing his yellow teeth "Now, I'm only gonna say this once, human, get back across the border, before I throw you across."

"I'm not looking for trouble, mate, just answers" Llain replied, keeping his calm as best his could, the giant still had his hand on Llain's wrist and kept tightening his grip –causing pained grunts to escape from Llain.

"Sorry, friend, am I hurting you?" The giant asked, feigning concern, his smile soon fading to an angry scowl "I lost a lotta good friends to you humans, and I'll be damned if I let one prance through my home without any consequences!"

"I won't -Agh!- make any excuses for the war!" Llain responded, talking through gritted teeth "And I can't say that I'm innocent either..." he let go of the mug and tried to free his other hand from the monster's grasp, but to no avail "But I need information, or else both kingdoms are in danger!"

"I don't give a fig what happens to the humans!" The monster roared, lifting Llain off of his feet with one hand "And I don't see any danger to us monsters, so I say you take your lies and shove 'em!"

"Fine then...we'll do it your way..." Llain muttered, grabbing the tankard from the bar and throwing the contents onto the giants face, causing him to stagger and drop him, Llain then took the empty tankard and threw it at his opponents face, sending him reeling "I've been in my fair share of tavern brawls, mate, I think I can handle you!" soon, the whole bar erupted into chaos as multiple participants tried to take down Llain...

Meanwhile, in the south district, Asriel's group had not fared much better "*Sigh *...We've been here for nearly the entire day, and we still haven't found a lead..." Asriel sighed, sitting with his head in his hands at a fountain.

"D-Don't worry, Asriel, I'm sure Sans and Papyrus have found something" Alphys reassured, trying to sound positive, even though she herself was having doubts "I mean, they've been gone quite a while, so maybe that means they found a lead!"

As if on cue, the two skeleton brothers returned to the group, but this time with a young, armless monster accompanying them "Greetings, Alphys and clone!" Papyrus greeted, confusing both Alphys and Asriel "Sans and I have found someone who claims to have witnessed these monsters in action!"

"yeah, kid, tell them what you told us..." Sans added, patting the child on the back and pushing him towards Asriel "go on, what 'arm' could it do?" the young monster looked back at Sans and Papyrus before taking a deep breath and speaking.

"I saw this weird rock thing walking around the forest last night!" He informed them, trying to keep his voice from shaking "I was out playing with my sister like usual, and when I tried to find her to bring her home, I heard her scream!" he paused for a moment and a brief look of shame crossed his face "I-I ran over to see what the problem was, and I saw that rock thing walking right toward her! I stepped in front of her and yelled at him to stop, but he wouldn't! We woulda gotten crushed if she hadn't pulled me out of the way!"

"That was very noble of you, standing up to a daunting enemy like that" Asriel complimented, kneeling down and putting his hand on the young monsters shoulder "Now, can you lead us to where you saw this monster?, we have to find it before anyone gets hurt..."

"Yeah, I can show you where it is!" The kid said, courage and determination returning to his face "But you have to take me with you when you leave town, I saw your carriage and I know you're traveling around looking for these things, I wanna help!"

"Th-That might not be the best idea..." Alphys interjected, approaching the group "This journey isn't one a child should be on..." even after hearing her words, the young monster was not swayed.

"But you guys already have a kid traveling with you!" He pointed out, taking a step forward "And besides, I can fight!, I've been learning how to use an axe!"

"buddy, the kid we got with us is a...special case, to put it mildly" Sans gently spoke, trying not to anger the kid anymore and lose their only lead "tell ya what, you take us to where you saw that rock guy, and we'll consider you for our group, alright?"

"Better than nothing, I guess!" The kid cheered, his face brightening up again "Come on, it's just outside of town, on the east side!" as he ran off, the others took time to deliberate.

"Papyrus, c-could you tell the others where we're headed?" Alphys asked, making sure she had everything prepared in her pack "If there truly is a Praetorite here, we'll need all the help we can get taking it down."

"Do not worry, Alphys!" Papyrus responded, saluting her proudly "For I, The Great Soldier Papyrus, am also a master at delivering messages!" without another word, he was off unaware of quickly spreading news of a large-scale battle breaking out a tavern in the North district of town...

The End!

A.N: Again, sorry for the late post, I just couldn't stop procrastinating...anyway, I have a question, when it comes to the support conversations, do you guys care how often I do them? My original plan was to do them every 2 or 3 chapters (Unless there's action going on currently), do you like this idea, or should I do it more randomly? If you have any opinions about them at all, feel free to tell me, enjoy!


	7. Support Conversations Part 2

Emblemtale: The Ancients- Support Conversations 2

(So, I decided to go with Support conversations every 3 chapters, and to solve the problem of interrupting action scenes, all of the Support Conversations will be flashbacks)

 _Sans and Papyrus- Support B_

While traveling along the coastal road, the group decided to set up camp as the sun began to set, as the group went about getting everything ready, Papyrus vigilantly scanned the perimeter of the camp, though he wasn't scanning for enemies this time...

"He should be around here somewhere..." Papyrus whispered, squinting as he looked around the woods "Sans is so predictable, I can't believe he hasn't learned anything since our last meeting..." as he walked through the woods, he saw a clearing ahead of him and heard voices coming from it.

"This is all you got?" One voice said, Papyrus did not recognize this voice, prepared his spear just in case he turned out to be an enemy "I'm not sure this'll be enough, friend..." despite the friendly tone, Papyrus could tell there was venom behind his words.

The next voice to speak shocked Papyrus "that's all, you're gonna keep up with your end of the bargain, right?" Papyrus moved closer to the clearing, just to confirm his suspicions, and they were unfortunately confirmed when he saw Sans standing across from a Bear-like monster.

"Hmm...well, since we've done business before, I'll give you a discount" The Bear replied, tossing the satchel of gold coins in his hands "But you make sure you have more next time, aye?" Papyrus couldn't see Sans' face, but something he did made the bear shudder "W-Well, pleasure doing business, I'll be seeing ya!" he then turned and ran off, leaving Sans alone in the clearing.

"Sigh...this ain't gettin' any easier..." Sans muttered, placing a hand on his head and turning to leave, seeing this, Papyrus panicked and ran off, making his way back to camp –trying to make himself seem busy once Sans returned.

Sans soon returned and saw Papyrus tending to the fire "huh, thought i'd find you patrolling the camp, whatcha been doin', paps?" Sans couldn't put his finger on it, but something seemed off about his brother, but he wasn't telling.

"W-Well, I did take the time to patrol the camp and found that there weren't any immediate threats, so I returned to the camp to make sure everything here is in order!" Papyrus lied, trying to fool Sans "Nothing to be suspicious of here, dear brother!"

"paps...you're worryin' me more than usual, bro" Sans responded, sitting across from Papyrus at the fire "you sure there ain't anything you want to talk about?"

"No, there is nothing wrong here!" Papyrus continued, giving Sans a fake smile "I definitely did not see you in the forest with anyone..." at that, he quickly clapped his hand over his mouth as Sans looked at him, his eyes wide with shock "...It's true, I saw your meeting in the forest..."

"oh...that...don't worry about it" Sans answered, his face turning uncharacteristically serious "it's not something to concern yourself with, alright?" he got up from the fire and started to wake away, but Papyrus stopped him.

"Sans, is something wrong?" Papyrus asked, worriedly furrowing his brow "Why would you be associating with someone like that?" Sans didn't answer and continued walking "Brother, are you in league with Bandits?!"

Sans didn't stop as he made his way to his tent "papyrus, like I said before, it's nothing to worry about, I've got it under control..." he then yawned and opened the flap to his tent "i'm a bit tired, think i'm gonna take a nap, see you later, bro..." he disappeared into his tent and left Papyrus alone by the fire, his thoughts racing a million miles a minute...

 _Llain and Frisk- Support B_

At the crack of dawn, Llain entered Frisk's tent and gently shook her awake "Hey, it's time for your next lesson, are you ready?" Frisk slowly rose in her bedroll and groggily wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"...What?" She asked, nearly falling back asleep "Isn't it too early to be doing anything?" Llain stood up and went to the entrance of the tent, opening the flap and nearly blinding Frisk as the rising sunlight flooded in.

"Now's the best time to continue your training, meet me in the middle of the camp when you're ready, aye?" He said, walking out of the tent and leaving Frisk to prepare for whatever he had waiting for her, soon, she went to the middle of the camp and found Llain standing there with two fishing poles in his hands "I'm in charge of supper tonight, so I thought this would be a good time for a lesson!"

Frisk had little time to react as Llain threw the other fishing pole at her, she fumbled with it for a bit, confusedly staring at it, turning it over in her hands "A fishing pole?, how is this gonna help me train with a sword?"

"It'll teach you patience and when to make the perfect strike" Llain informed her, laying his fishing pole across his shoulders "What do you say? Wanna come with me? I'll leave it up to you, of course" he started to leave on his own but was soon followed by Frisk.

"Well...I don't know if it'll help me learn swordsmanship..." Frisk started, looking at the ground "But I'd like to help any way I can, and if you think it will help me learn, I'll do it!" the two of them left the camp and made their way to a nearby beach.

"This spot should do..." Llain said to himself, he sat at the water's edge and began placing his bait on the hook, once it was all set up, he threw his line in the water and looked back at Frisk "Fish won't catch themselves, little lady."

Frisk nodded and joined Llain at the edge, she sat next to him and tried to put the bait on her own hook, but she was seemingly struggling with it, she soon was able to get it set up, tossing the hook into the water as well.

It felt like ages before either of them even got a bite, Llain was the first one to make a catch and he effortlessly landed the fish, pulling it out of the water and onto the beach "There we go, nothing to it, right?" as more time passed, Llain's pile continued growing, while Frisk's remained stagnant at zero.

Every time she tried to make a catch, she found herself moving too quickly and scaring the fish away, but she wasn't giving up " _I can do this...deep breath..._ " She slowed her breathing and carefully watched as another fish went up to her line, once she felt the moment was right, she pulled back on the line and felt the fish struggling to escape "I got one! I got one!" she cheered, pulling the line and trying to get the fish to the shore, but soon, her line snapped.

"Oh well, don't worry about the one that got away, Frisk" Llain said, trying to reassure her, but when he looked at her, she was proudly beaming "Are you alright?"

"I did it!" She cheered once again "I think I get it now, I just waited for the perfect moment, and I got it on the line!" she giddily bounced up and down, hardly containing her excitement "If I do that while sword fighting, it'll be easier to win, right?"

"...Something like that" Llain replied, getting up and placing the fish in a basket "If you go into a fight with patience and observation, it'll be harder to take you down" He then hoisted the basket onto his back and started walking back to camp "Now, come on, let's see what we can do with these."

Frisk happily nodded and followed Llain back to camp, cheerfully asking what the next lesson would be...

 _Alphys and Undyne- Support B_

Alphys was walking around the camp, coming back from a strategy meeting with Asriel, as she made her way back to her tent, she saw Undyne training at the edge of camp, nearly destroying a tree with her spear.

She silently approached her and just watched, until she was certain Undyne was aware of her presence "U-Um, hi, Undyne..." she said, but the black-clad warrior still continued, acting as though Alphys did not exist "U-Undyne...do you want to talk?"

Undyne thrust her spear through the tree, sending it clear through the other side before letting out a heavy sigh "There's nothing to talk about, Alphys..." she said before yanking the spear from the tree, nearly causing it to collapse in the process "Alright?, Just drop it..."

"But, Undyne!" Alphys called, but to no avail, as Undyne did not break her stride, disappearing into her tent "Please...let me make it up to you..." Alphys dropped her head and trudged back into camp, but as she walked, she accidentally bumped into Papyrus "Oh...I'm sorry Papyrus, I didn't see you..."

"Not to worry, Alphys, your sad walk did not damage!" Papyrus said, smiling brightly, but it soon faded as he noticed the downtrodden look on her face "Is something the matter, friend?"

"Well...I wanted to make it up to Undyne, but she won't even talk to me..." Alphys replied, looking back down at the ground "I just want her to stop being angry..." before she could say anything else, she felt hands on her shoulders and looked up at Papyrus, who had tears forming in his eyes.

"Alphys, I, The Great Papyrus, Shall help you in this endeavor!" He offered, taking his hands off of her shoulders and posing dramatically "I shall not stop until your problems are resolved!" he placed a hand on his chest and closed his eyes "Now, I shall do for you what I always do when I have a problem...consult my brother, I'll go get him!" with that, he ran off and left Alphys on her own.

"Sigh...maybe I could buy her something when we're in town?" She thought aloud, continuing to walk through the camp without even waiting for Papyrus to return, she soon made her way to the mess tent, where she found Grillby cleaning dishes "Oh, I didn't know anyone was in here...sorry."

Alphys took a seat at one of the tables and placed her head in her hands as Grillby went about with the dishes, aside from the clattering of pans, the entire tent was silent –until it was broken by Grillby "If there is something you want to talk about, I'll gladly lend an ear..."

"Well...no, I-I'll be fine, don't worry about it..." Alphys lied, staring at the table and tracing an imaginary line on it with her claw "...It's just...I'm worried Undyne will never forgive me..."

Grillby set down his cleaning equipment and sat down next to Alphys "If I may be frank, if you want to talk to her, you need to be more assertive" he placed a hand on her shoulder and she felt a warm heat from it "Undyne is a type of person who doesn't do things by halves, so you may have to do things her way to get her to respond..."

"Do things her way...?" Alphys repeated, taking a moment to think before standing triumphantly "Yeah...I think I know what I have to do now!" she left the tent as Grillby went back to cleaning, as he cleaned though, he couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding hanging in the air...

THE END

A.N: And so ends the second part of the Support Conversations, but I have one question for you guys, which characters do you think would have great Supports together? I'd love to hear any ideas you have, either leave them in a review, or PM them to me directly! Hope you enjoy!


	8. Chapter 6

Emblemtale: The Ancients- Chapter 6: Tales on the Other Side!

While Frisk and the others began their investigation, on the other side of the border, in the kingdom of Vauland, Princess Serene and her retainers had continued their journey to the battlefield, stopping off at a town on the edge of a dense forest, they hitched their horses at a nearby inn and dismounted.

"Alright, Guys, we'll rest up here tonight and set out again in the morning!" Serene planned, she went to open the door, but before she could, both Livi and Agate grabbed her "What are you guys doing?! Let go of me!"

"Princess, do you really think it's a good idea to walk around in plain sight like this?" Livi asked, letting go of Serene and folding his arms in front of him "Monsters aren't the only threat to your line, it would do us no favors if we were attacked before we even found the king."

As they talked, Agate returned to the horses and grabbed something from one of the saddle bags, he walked back to the group and unfurled it to reveal that it was a cloak and a set of commoners clothes "Luckily, we planned for this! er...well, Livi planned for this" he then handed the disguise to Serene "This should let you seamlessly blend in with the common people!"

"Oh! That's a great idea, you two!" Serene said, examining the clothes, she then looked around for a place to change and found a copse of trees that would be perfect "I'll just be a minute, please wait here!" she ran off and disappeared behind the line of trees.

After she had left, Agate took this opportunity to try and enter the inn, but as he ran –he felt something holding on to his cloak, he looked back and saw that it was Lavernius "Come on, Livi, I'm starving! We haven't had anything to eat aside from jerky since we left!"

"I'm hungry as well, but we would be poor retainers if we left the princess on her own" Lavernius replied, embarrassed as his stomach loudly growled "Though...I can smell stew from here...perhaps she'll be okay for the moment..."

Before the two of them could enter the inn, they heard the princess yell "Oh crap, come on, Livi, we gotta move!" Agate yelled, pulling his tome off of his belt and running down the stairs with Lavernius following silently behind.

"M'Lady, are you there?!" Lavernius called out, frantically looking through the forest "Serene, say something!" they continued their desperate search, soon coming upon a clearing, they heard Serene's voice once more, but this time she was...laughing?

"Haha! Come on, cut it out, that tickles!" She laughed, the men dropped their weapons, shocked at the sight in front of them, the princess had been tackled to the ground and her face was being liked by a giant red wyvern.

"S-Serene...what's going on?" Lavernius asked, watching the scene unfold in front of him "Who does this beast belong to?"

"Man, and here we thought she was in trouble..." Agate sighed, letting his shoulders sag, he then readjusted himself, smiling brightly once again "Ah well, at least nothing bad happened, come on Livi –let's go get something to eat!"

"You idiot, who knows where this beast came from!" Livi whisper-shouted, grabbing Agate by his hood and dragging him back "It could belong to some bandit group around here, we have to scare it off!" he drew his knife and slowly approached the wyvern, making sure it didn't notice him.

Lavernius poised his knife to strike, but before he could, an axe flew out from behind the line of trees and embedded itself in the ground, causing Lavernius to jump back and snapping Serene and the wyvern to attention.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Lavernius ordered, holding his knife in front of him "If you're bandits, know that we will not come quietly!" silence filled the clearing as they waited for a response, suddenly, a boisterous, yet feminine laugh, came from behind the trees.

There was a shifting in the trees and a tall woman with flowing, dark green hair approached from the shadows "Sorry for scaring you, love, but I couldn't let you hurt my wyvern!" she walked over to the wyvern and pet his flank "He may seem nice, but he's a real terror in a fight!"

Serene got off of the ground and began cleaning herself up, wiping off the dirt and wyvern slobber with her sleeves "Oh, It's quite alright, he's a real sweetheart!" she approached the wyvern again and gave him a pat on the head.

"Y'hear that, Uther? Sounds like you made a new friend!" The woman said, a wide grin on her face "Well, seeing as you're acquainted with Uther, might as well introduce myself, I'm Freya!" she held out her hand and waited for Serene to shake it, before she could though –Lavernius walked between the two and stared down Freya with a challenging glare "Anything I can help you with, friend?"

"You are a stranger, forgive me if I seem standoffish" Lavernius replied, keeping his gaze locked on her eyes, an uneasy air descended upon the four, but before anything could happen, Agate pulled Lavernius away.

"Sorry about him! He's kinda overprotective!" Agate apologized, struggling to hold Lavernius back "You don't seem bad, I'm Agate, and this guy's Livi, and she's Serene!" once he had introduced them all, Lavernius placed his hand on Agate's face and began shoving him back.

"How many times must I tell you!? I hate that nickname!" He yelled, losing his composure, he then cleared his throat and turned back to Freya "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

Freya took a minute to laugh at the slapstick unfolding in front of her before replying "Well, I live out here with Uther, I took up residence in a cave outside of the village, since a lot of the parents were worried about this 'big, bad, beast' being around their children."

"Oh!, That makes sense, Wyverns usually don't live near human civilizations" Serene explained, scratching Uther under his chin "How did you come to meet him?"

Suddenly, Freya's smile dropped and a look of pain took its place "Well...it's quite the story, that's for sure" she took a deep breath and continued "I used to run with a band of mercenaries, we weren't exactly the...nicest company, we came across Uther as a hatchling, abandoned by his family and near starved, we debated leaving him or putting him out of his misery" She placed her hand on Uther's side as she said that "But I convinced those idiots to bring him along and nursed him along the road, and we've been inseparable ever since.

"Aw man, that's such a touching story!" Agate gushed, tears welling up in his eyes "I'm not crying! Th-There's just dust in my eyes, dammit!" as he broke down blubbering, Freya seemed deep in thought, as if deciding whether or not to ask them a question.

"But...that brings me to my next point" She said, finally coming to a decision "I was on my way to the town to ask them for a favor, you three seem more than capable, though, so if you don't mind, I have a proposition for you."

Lavernius opened his mouth, ready to refuse, but before he could, Serene and Agate jumped in front of him shouting "Of course!" leaving him in stunned silence as Freya carried on.

"Well, as I said, I live in a cave just a little ways off" She began, pointing off in the direction she came from, which the others assumed was where her cave was "Well, a couple days ago, a group of hooded ruffians came by and threw us out of our own home!"

"Oh no, that's horrible!" Serene replied, putting a hand in front of her mouth "Do you know who they were or what they wanted?"

Freya shook her head, a scowl marring her face "They didn't ask for gold, or even food, they seemed more interested in the cave then anything" she placed a hand on her chin, thinking for a moment "Though they kept mentioning something about the 'Ancients'."

"Ancients?" Serene repeated, seeming to recognize that word "I feel like I've seen that before, maybe in the archives back at the capital?"

"You three are from the Capital?" Freya asked as Lavernius and Agate exchanged worried glances "Who are you?"

"We're...uh...um" Agate stammered, trying to figure out a convincing enough lie "M-M-Mercenaries! Yeah, that's it!" Lavernius sighed, knowing that he now had to go along with this lie if he wanted to maintain their cover.

"Yes, Agate and I are Mercenaries under the command of Captain Llain" He lied, recalling the name of a mercenary captain that had offered his services to the King "And Serene is a scholar, she hired us to protect her while she goes around the kingdom, she's currently writing an encyclopedia of the flora and fauna."

"Uh, Yes, that's true!" Serene agreed, trying to not give them away "And I'd be more than happy to lend my mercenaries to you in order to take back your home!" she smiled at Freya and prayed to whatever watched over them that she believed their lie.

"...Well, that's a worthy endeavor!" Freya answered, grinning back at Serene "And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for offering these two strapping gentlemen!" she then leaped onto Uther's back, motioning for the others to join her "Come on, we'll get there in no time if we fly!"

The others climbed onto the wyvern, with Lavernius assisting Serene onto his back, once they were all on, Uther's mighty wings began flapping and soon they took off into the night air "Woo!, This is awesome!" Agate cheered, giddily looking around.

"Speak for yourself..." Lavernius groaned, looking down at the ground below them and squeezing his eyes shut "I've never been this high before..."

"What's wrong, Lavernius? You've never had a problem back at the capital" Serene asked, placing a hand on Lavernius' shoulder, feeling him tremble "Are you going to be okay?"

"The buildings in the capital are sturdy, I don't feel as if I'll fall any moment..." Lavernius answered, keeping his eyes shut "But...I should be fine, so long as we get there fast..." he opened his eyes and saw Freya looking back at them with a mischievous grin.

"If it's fast you want, I'll give you fast!" She said, pushing her heels into Uther's sides "Come on, Uther, let's pick up the pace!" Uther let out a roar as he began beating his wings faster, his passengers feeling the wind whip through their hair and Lavernius soon regretted voicing his concerns...

They soon reached the cave and landed away from it, as not to attract any attention "Alright, do you have a plan?" Lavernius asked as the four of them huddled around "I assume we'll be outnumbered, so I suggest stealth."

"What? That's boring!" Agate whined, pouting and crossing his arms "We should just rush in and catch them by surprise! With my magic and a freakin' dragon, we'll have them cleared out in no time!"

"I agree with Livi, stealth would be the better option" Freya added, she then walked over to a fallen log and pulled out a knapsack from within "I've been keeping some supplies out here just in case, they should come in handy" she opened the bag and threw pouches of medicine at the other three "You don't seem to be armed, Serene, can you fight?"

"Yes, I can, but I left my axe with our horses, you wouldn't happen to have a spare, would you?" Serene asked, Freya took a moment to laugh, stating how funny it was that someone like Serene used an axe, before returning to the log and pulling a steel axe out from it, she handed it to Serene, who gave it a few test swings before nodding "Alright, I think I should be able to help now!"

The four of them took a moment to work out the specifics of their plan before beginning their advance, staying low to the ground, trying to remain out of sight "I remember eight of them showing up the first time, I don't know if they've got reinforcements since then, so be on your guard."

They quickly dove behind a boulder as two hooded men approached "I could have sworn I heard voices from here..." The two of them took a moment to look around before starting to walk back towards the cave "How goes the excavation, brother?"

"We have made little progress..." The other figure replied, still looking around the area, scanning every shadow for an intruder "We've spent more time clearing out that interlopers belongings then anything..."

"Alright, when they make another pass, take them out" Lavernius whispered, glancing over at Freya, who simply nodded in reply as the two figures turned around and began coming back towards them "Three...two...one...now!" he yelled, as he and Freya dove out from cover and subdued the guards, quickly silencing them.

"Okay, Let's move!" Serene ordered, pointing out another hiding spot, after taking a moment to make sure the unconscious guards were out of sight, they began to move, but as they did, the ground started shaking under them "What is this?! An earthquake?!" they heard a low roar and turned back to their previous hiding place, which began moving, soon revealing itself to be a Praetorite.

"What's that thing?!" Agate yelled, grabbing his tome, he then heard yelling behind them and saw that the hooded men had discovered them and were quickly approaching with weapons drawn "Oh great, we gotta deal with them too?!"

Freya whistled, summoning Uther from the forest "Alright, boy, let's show them what we can do!" she bellowed, leaping on to his back, the others prepped for battle, waiting for the enemies to make a move, but keeping a close eye on the daunting rock monster before them, with Uther's roar signaling the start of battle...

THE END.

A.N: Hope these switching perspective chapters aren't too abrupt, I've never done a story like this before, I hope you all enjoy!


	9. Chapter 7

Emblemtale: The Ancients! Chapter 7: Origin Uncovered?

(So, Really quick, I wanted to apologize for ignoring this story for so long, as cheesy as it sounds, I kinda started posting things that were more popular and began to lose sight of why I wrote in the first place, fun, so, as a New Year's Resolution, I'm bringing it back!)

As the heroes continued their investigation, the cultists were forming plans of their own, the leader of them looking at a small figure shackled in a jail cell "A being with a pure soul...we need those who share your nature in order to complete our plans, you wouldn't happen to know where beings such as these may reside, do you, child?"

The figure remained silent, eliciting a wry laugh from the leader "No, of course not, you're quite drained from today's...activities" he then walked away from the cells and was joined by one of his subordinates, a hunched over figure who was constantly wringing his hands together.

"My lord!, I believe we have a way to combat these thorns in or sides!" He croaked, his voice sounding ragged and strained "It seems that before she left, the traitorous lizard neglected to bring along one of her inventions!"

This seemed to pique the leader's curiosity, following the man as he lead him down the dark and twisting hallways of their base, they finally reached their destination, which appeared to be a secret lab, with something being covered by a sheet in the middle of the room.

"What is this 'invention'?" The leader asked, running his hand along the dust covered table that ran along the wall of the room "And what makes you believe this would help us repel these nuisances?" the lackey began quickly searching through his robes, finally finding what he was looking for, a scrap of paper.

"Here, My lord!, I believe it is a design for a weapon of sorts, an Automaton, even!" he answered, handing his leader the page "It seems to be perfectly designed to fight against not only humans, but monsters as well!"

Intrigued, the leader approached the covered figure in the middle of the room, he carefully placed a hand on the sheet, a brief feeling of apprehension washing over him, before he finally ripped off the sheet and revealed a humanoid figure with skin made of pure-white porcelain, faux hair made of a hard black material, pink and black armor covering his body.

"This is the weapon?" He asked, examining the body, unsure of its use "This doesn't seem like it's capable of combat..." he turned back to his subordinate, who was pouring over more and more of the documents left by Alphys.

He kept looking from the Automaton back to the documents "These documents state that it can utilize the ranged techniques with bows and arrows, as well as close combat techniques with saw blades" he then looked back at the automaton "It also apparently operates through clockwork, much like a mill."

The leader examined the body of the automaton, scouring the chassis for some sort of way to activate it, finally finding a small switch on it's back, once it was flipped, there was a whirring of gears and finally, the eyes lit up and the mouth opened letting out one single phrase " _Oh Yes~~~!_ "

With that, it's right arm opened and a bow unfolded from it, and a panel on the left leg opened and revealed a quiver of arrows, then the left arm opened as well, with a saw blade extending from it, seeing these weapons, the lead cultist was taken a back for a moment, before finally letting out a foreboding laugh...

Meanwhile, back with the heroes and unbeknownst to the others, the battle raged on in the tavern, with Llain dodging blows from monsters of all sizes, some of which weren't even aimed at him, as patrons began fighting each other instead of him " _This is bloody chaos! Guess I really stepped in it this time..._ "

Llain was quickly pulled out of his thoughts as a giant fist wrapped around one of his legs and tossed him through the air, causing him to collide with the bar, silently thanking whoever designed his gambeson for making it thick enough to stop any of the glass shards from piercing his skin.

He tried to shake off his fatigue, but was accosted by the large, Ogre-like monster again "You think you can just slip away, scrawny?!" he grabbed Llain's arm and slammed him against the counter-top, spitting up blood in the process, he then grabbed his leg and held him in front of his face "What happened to all of that talk from earlier?"

Llain let out a heavy and ragged breath, giving the monster a wavering smirk "Mate, I've met tavern girls who hit harder than you..." he then started laughing, but his laughter was soon replaced with coughs as blood flew from his mouth, spattering on the monsters face "Sorry, didn't mean to spill my blood on you."

The monster let out a low growl, his eyes burning into Llain's "I'll break you like a toy..." he then slammed the human into the back of the bar, shattering several more bottles and nearly breaking Llain's spine, the ogre then let out a loud roar as he pulled back his other fist, ready to finish off his opponent...

Earlier, outside the tavern, both Undyne and Frisk had left their respective buildings, with Undyne saying her goodbyes to her old mentor, and Frisk admiring her new outfit, now tailored to accommodate her wings, she spun around and admired how the fabric fluttered around her "Lookin' sharp, kid!" Undyne called, startling Frisk and pulling her out of her thoughts "You hear from Llain at all?"

"No, I was...talking to the tailor" Frisk admitted, feeling guilty for spending most of her time looking at clothes instead of gathering information "But he should still be at the tavern! Let's go check it out!"

"Alright, but I think I should take the lead on this one, we don't know what kinda jerks are gonna be there" Undyne replied, Frisk nodded and the two of them set out to the tavern, when they were close enough, they saw Papyrus standing outside as well, seemingly frightened to go inside "Papyrus? What are you doing here?"

"W-Well, I was told to inform you three that there has been a reported Praetorite sighting..." Papyrus began, looking towards the tavern, which seemed to be shaking quite violently "But I do believe Llain is...preoccupied at the moment, perhaps it's merely some sort of rollicking game?"

"'Game' My ass..." Undyne swore, sneering at the building and cracking her knuckles "Sounds more like a bar-fight, we gotta step in before we get run outta town!" she began walking towards the building with Papyrus at her side and Frisk behind them.

As the doors swung open, they were shocked to see the level of chaos going on inside the bar, monsters were laid out all over the floor, either unconscious from the fighting, or finally succumbing to their drinks, and what they saw at the back of the bar was most shocking, Llain pinned to the wall by the ogre.

"...No" Frisk whispered, seeing what was happening to him, she instinctively grabbed her Dragonstone and began transforming, startling and blinding everyone in the bar as she did, all of them stopped fighting and stared in awe at the Dragon now in the doorway, billowing out it's mist-like breath "Leave him alone!" She roared, shaking the foundation of the bar more than the fighting had.

The former brawlers were simply staring at Frisk in amazement, soon, one voice spoke "...Is she?...Lady Naga!?" after this, many of the others in the crowd began repeating the name "Naga" and one-by-one, the patrons began kneeling in front of Frisk, even the ogre dropped Llain to the ground and turned his attention to the dragon, who was now both embarrassed and confused.

"Naga? That old legend?" Undyne muttered, looking at the congregation growing in front of them, she then tapped Papyrus' arm "Go grab him, I'm gonna stay with Frisk, in case someone tries something..."

Papyrus saluted and ran over to Llain, helping him off the ground and slowly making their way back to Frisk and Undyne "Are you alright, Llain?" Papyrus asked, helping the human lean against a wall, as Frisk slowly reverted back to her human form and ran over to check on him as well.

"I'm quite alright...though, I must admit, it's embarrassing you had to see me in this sorry state" Llain responded, attempting to defuse the situation with a joke, but the worried expression in Frisks eyes made him change his tone "Don't worry, it's nothing I haven't been through before."

As they spoke, they soon realized that they were still being watched, and some of the patrons were even chanting prayers at them, seeing this, Undyne scoffed and crossed her arms "They really think this kid is Lady Naga? Don't be ridiculous."

"Mind filling me in on who this 'Lady Naga' is supposed to be?" Llain questioned, adjusting himself against the wall "And why do these fools think she's related to Frisk?" Papyrus was the one to answer his question.

"My apologies, I had forgotten that humans have adopted a new pantheon" he began, placing a hand under his chin as he watched the crowd of people, still praying "Naga is the name of the Matriarch of the Divine Dragons, she was responsible for one of the first Monster/Human peace treaties; this act marked her as a Deity, and many in the Zephina still worship her to this day" he then gestured towards the group in front of them "There are still debates to this day whether Naga was a Monster, or a Human, a division that caused the humans to denounce her status as a deity and they have sought new deities since that day..."

"So...these sods believe that Frisk is some sort of...reincarnated Goddess?" Llain questioned, glancing down at the young girl, who was staring bewildered at the mass "I'm not one for Gods...this all sounds far-fetched..."

The two were brought out of their discussion as the ogre trundled over to them, a look of anger on his face, Llain braced himself and attempted to draw his sword, but they were stunned when the ogre knelt in front of them once more "Please...I ask for your forgiveness...had I known you were traveling with the Voice of Naga, I would not have assaulted you."

Llain was about to reply, but Frisk beat him to it, approaching the ogre and placing a hand on his shoulder "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm who you think I am..." she gently said, she then turned to the other Monsters, who were still praying "Please, all of you, I think there's been a mistake..."

Before any of the monsters could protest, the tavern violently shook once more, and screams could be heard outside "Oh my! What is happening out there!?" Papyrus shouted, running for the door "Everyone who is able to fight, follow me!" members of the crowd shouted in agreement and followed Papyrus out of the bar, leaving behind those unable to fight.

"Damn! Those rumors about the Praetorites must've been true!" Undyne grumbled, taking a pouch off of her belt and tossing it to Llain "Use this Vulnerary, we're gonna need every hand for this one!"

"Right, you get out there, I'll be out in a moment" Llain replied, taking a drink from the pouch and feeling his wounds start to close, Undyne nodded and ran out of the bar, once she was gone, Llain turned his attention to Frisk "You'll stay here, right?"

"No! I'm not gonna abandon you guys! Not now!" She protested, grabbing Llain's arm as he tried to stand "I don't want to be protected all the time! I want to help out!" Seeing she was serious, Llain smiled as he tousled her hair.

"I'm not telling you to stay here for _your_ safety" He clarified, pointing at the bar patrons who had stayed behind, young barmaids and elders "I want you to protect _them_ , do you think you can handle that?"

Frisk was taken aback for a second, but when she saw the scared faces of the people in the bar, something within her burned, as if she wanted to protect them, she turned back to Llain, with a look of renewed confidence "Of course! Just leave it to me!"

"Then it's settled!" Llain replied, heading towards the door "Don't let a single one in, alright?" Frisk nodded as Llain placed a hand on the door, mentally preparing himself for what lay beyond...

THE END!

A.N: Again, I truly have to apologize for ignoring this story for so long, but it feels good to get back into it, and I think from now on, I'll be posting this on Tuesdays, to fit with my new release schedule, anyway, one more apology and I hope you all still enjoy this!


	10. Chapter 8

Emblemtale: The Ancients- Chapter 8: Praeterita Historia

Back with Serene's group, they had been locked in battle with the cultists for most of the night, but neither side seemed to be taking the lead, having to dodge out of the way of the Praetorite attacks, though it's attacks were indiscriminate and took out a chunk of the cultists.

Leaping on to Uther's back, Freya raised her axe into the air "I'll handle the big guy, you three focus on those hooded bastards!" With that, Uther roared and began flying around the Praetorite, dive-bombing towards it so that Freya could get in some strikes alongside Uther's claws, but no matter what they did, it seemed as though they were unable to damage it "This damn thing hasn't got a scratch on it!"

After dispatching another cultist, Lavernius turned around to watch Freya's fight "Try something else!, Do you have any other weapons?!" he asked as he back-flipped over another cultist and slashed at him.

"In the cave!" Freya shouted back as Uther barely dodged a swipe "If these fools haven't completely trashed my house, there should be some axes in there!" Lavernius nodded and ran through the battlefield, expertly weaving through the crowd, parrying and swiping at any cultist that stepped in his path, eventually making it to the cave.

He quickly scoured the interior, digging through the detritus strewn about the cave, unable to find any sort of weapons in the rubble, his luck soon changed when he felt what he assumed was the haft of an axe, he hauled it out from the clutter and found it was a lightning-bladed Bolt Axe " _It'll have to do..._ "

Lavernius tied the axe to his back and ran out of the cave, heading back into the fray, trying to make his way back to Freya, but he was stopped by four cultists, but they were soon blown away by whipping winds, coming from Agate "Keep going, Livi! Freya needs help!"

He simply nodded at Agate, letting the nickname slide given the circumstances, Lavernius leaped over the prone bodies of the cultists and continued through the carnage, looking over to see that Serene had been expertly fighting against two enemies, he silently thanked the Gods that her father had her take combat lessons since she was young.

Lavernius then set his gaze on the Praetorite in front of him and saw that Uther had landed, seemingly exhausted, but not letting up, still trying to fight the enemy, even Freya seemed to be slowing down "Damn...what will it take to beat this thing?"

"Try this!" Lavernius yelled, untying the axe from his back and throwing it towards Freya "Grab it! I'll draw it's attention!" he took several more knives from his belt and began throwing them at the Praetorite, which slowly looked at him and began lumbering towards him.

Freya scrambled for the Bolt Axe, once she grabbed it she felt the energy crackle through it "Livi, get down!" she yelled, charging the axe, once she felt the power reaching it's apex, she held the axe in the air and called down the lighting, the resulting flash tore through the Praetorite, effectively tearing it in half "Phew...looks like I might have put too much into it..." Freya joked, nearly collapsing, but before she did, Lavernius caught her.

"Keep your wits about you" He said, helping her back to her feet "Losing consciousness here could spell your end" once she was back on her feet, he handed her a Vulnerary from his belt "Take this, we'll need all hands to make it through this battle."

"Hey! If you two are done flirting, we could use a hand over here!" Agate called, startling both Lavernius and Freya, but they decided to ignore his comment and joined him and Serene in battle "We've got them on the ropes, just a little more should do it!" 

"Do not falter!" Serene encouraged, an uncharacteristic commanding tone in her voice, she raised her axe in a rallying gesture "We shall be victorious by daybreak!" feeling their morale rise, the four heroes let out a battle cry and redoubled their attacks.

"We cannot fall here, brothers!" The lead cultist roused, trying to rally his allies, as well as attempting to mask the fear in his voice "We cannot allow our research to fall into their hands!"

"But how can we hope to stand against them?!" Another cultist cried, his body violently shaking from fear "They defeated a Praetorite! We can't fight against strength like that!" after voicing his fears, other cultists seemed to mirror his sentiment as well, weapons and voices wavering.

Seeing this, an idea struck Serene, she lowered her axe and found a tall rock to stand on, she then cleared her throat and stood firm "If you no longer wish to fight, you can flee with your lives, we will not pursue!"

"What?! Are you serious?!" Agate shouted, astonished by what Serene was saying "Are we really gonna let them run away Pri- er, Serene?!" he whipped around to looked at her, waiting for a reply, but the determined expression on her face told him all he needed to know "Damn...I was looking forward to a good fight..." he placed his tome back on his belt and crossed his arms, pouting.

"If this is what you wish..." Lavernius simply said, sheathing his knife and straightening up, staring down the cultists "But, if you do not take this pardon, know it will be not offered a second time..." Freya kept her axe ready, but soon relented and silently dropped her stance, waiting for the cultists response.

After a tense moment of silence passed between the two groups, the lead cultist looked around, seeing the bodies of his fallen comrades "Tch...we have no choice, if we do not give up, we'll be routed, fall back, we've gathered plenty from this site!"

The cultists stayed in place for a moment, but finally sheathed their weapons and began fleeing from the battlefield, grabbing what they could from the fallen, they soon disappeared behind the treeline as the sun began to rise.

Once they were gone, Agate let out a sigh and fell on his backside, grateful to finally be able to rest "Man...fighting that many guys on an empty stomach is hell...you got any food in that cave, Freya?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, Agate, but I have a feeling that those buffoons might have destroyed my rations" Freya replied, letting out an exasperated laugh, before a look of seriousness fell across her face once again "But since we scared them off, we won't be able to interrogate them..."

Serene climbed down from the rock and approached Freya "I'm so sorry! We couldn't stop them from destroying your home, we'll help you clean up!" Her honest offer took Freya aback, but her expression softened, patting Serene on the head.

"Thank you, I'm grateful for the help, but I think I may have overstayed my welcome" Freya replied, giving her a motherly smile "I'll salvage what I can from here, it's kind of you to offer, but you don't need to stay."

"No, I insist!" Serene persisted, returning Freya's kind smile "It wouldn't be right to just leave you here like this, especially if those weirdos decide to return!" before Freya could reply, Serene ducked past her and went to the cave, sifting through the rubble.

"Sigh...why do I have the feeling she'll keep offering our services as we continue this journey?" Lavernius snarked, grabbing Agate's collar and hoisting him to his feet "Let's get to it, then, we can't allow her to do this all on her own."

"But...breakfast..." Agate whined, trudging over to the cave alongside Lavernius, with Freya watching, stunned at their kindness, she was brought back to earth when Uther approached her and pressed his muzzle into her.

She smiled at her mount and pet his head "This is a strange group we've come across, wouldn't you say, Uther?" the wyvern purred in reply "Well, we can't let them shoulder all our burdens, let's lend them a hand."

Freya took her hand off of Uther and went to the cave, helping out the others with the cleaning, when they were finished, the sun was high in the sky and the cave had been effectively cleared "It's already noon...food..." Agate moaned, flopping on the ground, he then looked deeper in the cave and an idea struck him "Maybe they left something untouched down there?"

As Agate wandered further down the cave, Freya approached Serene and Lavernius, who were resting against the cave wall "I really must thank you again, you three had no reason to help, but you went above and beyond."

"It was nothing, honestly" Serene replied, smiling brightly "I couldn't just leave you here without a home!" they both fell silent again, though Lavernius could tell that Freya had a burning question she wanted to ask.

"If there is something you wish to ask, ask it" He stated, holding his arms out to his sides, though he felt he already knew what her question was going to be...

"You're no scholar, are you?" Freya asked, seeing the shocked expression on Serene's face only helped confirm her theory "I had an inkling that you were more important than you claimed to be, that little speech you gave at the end of that fight only made me more suspicious, are you a noble?"

Serene looked from Freya to Lavernius, the latter of which simply nodded, seemingly consenting to revealing her identity "...I apologize for lying to you earlier...I'm not a scholar, I am the daughter of King Valtick, next in line for the throne, I'm the princess of Vauland."

Freya took a moment to process this information, but she finally smiled and took a knee in front of Serene "Then I humbly offer my services to assist Her Highness, it's the least I could do after all you've done for me."

Serene felt embarrassment surge through her body, trying to get Freya to stand "P-Please, there's no need to bow!" before anyone else could say anything, Agate's voice called from deep within the cave.

"Guys! You've gotta see this!" He yelled, the three looked at each other and followed the sound of Agate's voice into the depths of the cave, they finally found him staring at a cave wall, using a fireball from his tome "Look at these..." He gestured towards the wall and the others looked at what was there.

Painted on the wall were depictions of the Praetorites, all different sizes, at the foot of the creatures were countless humans, seemingly worshiping the creatures, at the back of the group was a Praetorite that towered over the others, a crudely drawn crown above its head implied that it was the leader of the creatures.

"Is this what the cultists were looking for? These paintings?" Lavernius questioned, running his hand over the drawings, he then looked around at the other walls and found that there were what seemed to be letters near the drawings, but in an incomprehensible language "What is this?"

"Could it be a spell of some sort?" Serene asked, she then turned to Agate, who seemed to be intrigued by the letters "Can you read them?"

"Some...but these are way older than the language spells nowadays use..." He answered, not removing his gaze from the walls, parts of the symbols began to make sense to him "Wait...Oh crap! These are runes for a summoning spell! Were those psychos looking to revive these things?!"

"What?! Who knows what destruction these creatures could bring!" Serene responded, placing a hand on her chest "We need to get to my father, he has to know about this, before it's too late!"

The four of them ran to the entrance of the cave and began grabbing as many supplies as they could –as they prepped, Freya spoke up "If this is as serious as it seems, I'm coming along, you'll definetly need more help."

"Thank you, Freya, I know you'll be a great help!" Serene answered, Shaking Freya's hand "We can't waste any time, let's head back to the inn and grab our horses, hopefully the Monsters haven't reached the border yet, we won't be able to stand against these creatures with a war going on!"

Serene's three companions nodded and even Uther seemed to be agreement, with a new sense of urgency hanging over them, they made their way to the inn once more, saddling their horses and riding off, ignoring Agate's cries for food...

THE END!

A.N: Sorry for the late post, I had a lot to do around the house, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!


	11. Support Conversations Part 3

Emblemtale: The Ancients- Support Conversations 3

(So, I thought it was about time to do some support conversations for the other group! Also, I'm now realizing that making the supports flashbacks might cause continuity issues, so I think I'm gonna rescind that rule)

 _Lavernius and Agate- Support C_

Serene's group was still going down the road, trying to make it to the next settlement before night fell, as they went, Agate moved his horse towards Lavernius' "So, Livi, think they'll save some fighting for us when we get to the battlefield?"

"It is Lavernius, first of all, and second, I don't enjoy battle, I am simply doing my duty, so _no,_ I don't wish for them to _save_ any fighting for us" Lavernius answered, his eyes locked on the road ahead of him.

"Tch, fine, be that way, grump" Agate replied, pouting, they continued in silence for a moment, but Agate spoke once again "You know, it wouldn't hurt you to crack a smile every once in a while, do you even _know_ what fun is?"

This comment seemed to strike a nerve, as Lavernius turned to face Agate, though the only emotion that registered on his face was mild annoyance "Yes, I do know what fun is, reading is fun, gardening is fun, risking my life in some unknown field is not."

"Okay, no need to get so defensi –wait, you garden?" Agate questioned, surprised by Lavernius' comment, he shook it off and continued "Nevermind that, what about something other than battle? Sittin' in some dark library can't be that fun, where's the thrills?"

"There doesn't need to be 'thrills' to be fun" Lavernius countered, holding up one finger "And what would you suggest instead? Games of chance? I can't very well gamble away my earnings" suddenly, Agate's face lit up, causing a feeling of dread to wash over Lavernius "I'm not going to like the next words out of your mouth, am I?"

"Arena!" Agate blurted out, shocking everyone around him "It's a good way to get some thrills _and_ make some gold on the side, hell, you could even make a name for yourself!"

"Sigh...I won't hear the end of this until I go along with your inane scheme, will I?" Lavernius asked, resigning himself to his fate "If the next town has an arena, I'll think about it, is that good enough?"

"Perfect!" Agate replied, going over everything he knew about the arenas, much to Lavernius' chagrin...

 _Serene and Freya- Support C_

The sun had begun to set, so the group had decided it was time to make camp, since they were still miles away from the nearest civilization, once they were all set up, Serene had snuck away as the others discussed what they should do for supper.

She soon found what, or rather who, she was looking for, she calmly approached Uther and patted him on his side, causing the wyvern to face her and give her an affectionate lick "Hey, boy, how are you doing?"

The wyvern let out a small growl, which seemed to be a happy noise "Well, I'm glad that your happy, honestly, I can't help but feel a little nervous, marching towards a battlefield –and now these cultists and weird rock monsters are showing up..."

Uther nuzzled up to her once again, trying to cheer her up "Aw, thanks, I needed that!" she said, patting his head "It feels good to have someone to talk to that'll just listen, you know what I mean?"

"Now isn't this just adorable?" A new voice said, Serene turned around and saw Freya standing behind her, a bemused look on her face, Serene's entire face grew red as she realized that Freya likely heard her entire conversation with the wyvern.

"Oh, this is so embarrassing! Please, you can't tell the others what you saw!" Serene pleaded, placing her hands on her cheeks "I'd sooner face a million of those golems than face that mortification!"

Freya let out a hearty laugh and approached Serene, placing a hand on her shoulder "You needn't worry, I'd be quite the hypocrite if I said I never spoke with Uther, he's a good listener, but he's dreadful at holding a conversation!"

Serene laughed with Freya for a while, but her laughter soon ended and a wistful look marred her face "It's just...my mother owned a Pegasus, and I'd always talk to it when something was bothering me...I thought talking to Uther would be the same."

"Well...that's quite a story" Freya replied, feeling a twinge of guilt for laughing at Serene "You know, if there is anything you wish to discuss, anything at all, I'll gladly lend your ear, or you know, lend you one of Uther's."

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" Serene asked, her smile returning, Freya returned her smile and simply nodded "Thank you so much!" she was about to start venting more problems, but a loud growl from her stomach interrupted her.

Freya couldn't help but chuckle at this "Come on, let's check in on those two fools, perhaps they've come to a decision on supper?" Serene gladly agreed and the two of them said their goodbyes to Uther, who simply turned away and fell asleep.

As the two of them walked back to the middle of the camp, the wistful look returned to Serene's face "Hey, Freya? Thank you..."

Freya was surprised to hear this, but a warm feeling spread through her chest "It's no trouble, I assure you, and it wouldn't be right of me to just send you on your way without letting you get your thoughts out, you know?"

They rejoined Lavernius and Agate in the middle of the camp, who had settled on making a stew for dinner "Ah, I was wondering where you two had gone, where were you, anyway?" Lavernius asked as he stirred a pot over a campfire.

The two girls looked at each other, sharing a knowing look and a giggle "Oh, don't you worry, it's a secret between girls" Freya answered, Lavernius was satisfied with this answer, but Agate seemed to be irked by that answer, pressing the girls for more information, but they wouldn't reply, which only annoyed him more...

THE END!

A.N: Sorry if this is shorter than the other support chapters, I legitimately couldn't think of a third conversation, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!


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